Peoria Standard

The SAFE-T Act, set to go into effect on Jan. 1, has been subject to criticism from state’s attorneys to candidates campaigning for election.

The provision in the bill that abolishes cash bail has been the key recurring talking point for both sides. In lieu of cash bail is a system where the "burden of proof" for pretrial detention falls to the state. Gov. J.B. Pritzker has said the bill as a whole will bring equitable change to Illinois’ justice system. The opposition has been adamant that the SAFE-T Act will not make citizens safer, but simply overburden police departments, and provide the opportunity for violent criminals to be released back onto the streets.

“The Democrats in Springfield are trying to push big government into every aspect of our lives," Desi Anderson, a candidate for state Senate, District 41, said. "From businesses to schools, to churches, and to our economy, more government overreach is never the answer we need. Now, Democrats like my opponent Sen. Dave Koehler, want more government involvement in our law enforcement’s day-to-day operations."

With the new provisions of the Safe-T Act as of January, "police officers will be taken off the street after an arrest to do paperwork in the station – while on duty," Anderson said. "Officers will be forced to follow extensive flow charts that will add on roughly six to eight hours of work. Instead of working to keep our residents safe, such as right here in the 46th district, officers will be bogged down with painstaking work imposed upon them by our Democratic leaders."

The Democrat supermajority "would rather inconvenience the officers who risk their lives for our communities than let them do their jobs and reward them for their hard work and sacrifice, Anderson said. "I will always stand with our law enforcement and will be a strong advocate for them in Springfield."

The Illinois Courts website states that the "Illinois Supreme Court Pretrial Implementation Task Force was created in 2020 to prioritize and implement the recommendations of the Supreme Court Commission on Pretrial Practices and help prepare the justice system for the changes coming once the Pretrial Fairness Act (PFA) takes effect in 2023." The PFA was a part of Public Act 101-0652; originally HB3653, the SAFE-T Act.

In a Chicago Sun Times opinion piece, former Riverside Police Chief Tom Weitzel explained what this means for police departments across the state. Weitzel begins by explaining the better known provisions of the SAFE-T Act and the consequences. He continued on to talk about the administrative burden the average police officer is facing following the action of the Pretrial Implementation Task Force.

According to Weitzel, police officers on a felony arrest will likely start choosing to not make that arrest. The reasoning behind this is because with the elimination of cash bail and "burden of proof" for pretrial detention falling to the state, it is possible the individual committing a felony will be released back onto the street while the officer must complete potentially 6-8 hours of paperwork for that one arrest.

Weitzel believes that the implementation of the SAFE-T Act will create "apathy and low morale" in police officers across the state. He concluded the opinion piece by expressing that he is not advocating for this behavior nor is he claiming it is right, but in his opinion, this is what will happen should the SAFE-T Act go into effect on Jan. 1.

The Center Square reported that on a recent campaign stop, Pritzker said if "making changes to the language" helps people to understand the bill and keeps the state safe, he would be open to it.

Anderson is a small-business owner with her husband, Nick, and is mother to a 1-year-old, according to her campaign biography. She was abandoned as a baby in the Eastern Bloc of communist Europe in Bulgaria and went on to graduate from Indiana University with double major degrees. Anderson says her goal now is to be a unifying voice in elected office and fight back against the political corruption that has taken hold in Illinois.