by the author of The Interactive Prepper’s Book of Lists and The Prepper’s Workbook
As of 2023, Illinois is throwing its hands in the air – um, focusing on criminal justice reform – and will no longer be requiring cash bail for a series of crimes. Ironically, the new bill is called the SAFE-T Act. This reminds me of the “Patriot Act” and other bills with names that mean the opposite of the content.
Are we watching the Rule of Law crumbling right before our very eyes?
What crimes will no longer be subject to bail?
Part of this bill, the PreTrial Fairness Act, will do away with bail, as many people who are arrested can’t afford it. As of January 1, 2023, the following are just a few of the crimes will not require detention while waiting for trial:
- Aggravated Battery
- Aggravated DUI
- Aggravated Fleeing and Eluding
- Arson
- Burglary
- Drug-Induced Homicide
- Intimidation
- Kidnapping
- Robbery
- 2nd Degree Murder
- Threatening a Public Official
- Nearly All Drug Offenses
They’ve replaced the word “bail” with “pretrial release” and it will no longer cost money. That’s right – folks accused of violent crimes such as arson, battery, kidnapping, and murder will be A-OK to leave and come back later for their trial.
State Representative Patrick Windhorst shared his thoughts on some of the offenses that won’t involve detention before going to trial.
“So there are a whole list of violent crimes, burglary, robbery, arson, kidnapping, almost all drug offenses even drug distribution, DUI offenses, even DUI offenses that are involving a fatality, that do not qualify for detention under the Illinois Safety Act. To me, that’s going to mean a lot of individuals are committing crimes and being released immediately, if not within a couple of days,” he said.
It’s important to note that according to State’s Attorney J. Hanley this law prohibits judges from “considering each case on its own merits and applying the law accordingly.”
Anyone being held pending trial will be released.
On Jan. 1, 2023, anyone who is currently awaiting trial in the state of Illinois for one of those crimes will be released and asked to come back for their trial.
An Illinois sheriff is worried.
“Anyone sitting in jail right now with all these pending charges, they’re going to be let out,” Johnson County Sheriff Peter Sopczak said. “The gates are open and they’re going to be let out onto the streets.”
The bill reportedly passed with the support of upstate lawmakers. Proponents of the law said it’s wrong to keep people locked up simply because they can’t afford bail.
According to Sheriff Sopczak, fewer suspects will end up going to jail. Only suspects involved in specific deadly incidents could be held.
“We’re going to end up calling someone saying, ‘Can we arrest them?’ Just because of liability, if you take someone into custody and it doesn’t meet all the criteria, then you can get in trouble,” said Sopczak.
Sopczak also said he isn’t clear how the law will be implemented.
Other limitations of the bill
But that isn’t all. The far-reaching bill imposes other ridiculous limitations, as well.
Felony murder would still require suspects to remain incarcerated until their court hearing, and those charged with domestic violence would be held in custody for 24-48 hours.
But, only if the prosecution proves that the suspect is a danger to the safety of a specific, identifiable person or persons, Hanley pointed out.
“Imagine the defendant who murdered his wife, to whom he no longer poses a threat, being released because of this ridiculously limited legal standard,” Hanley said…
…“Judges may no longer issue a warrant when a defendant fails to come to court,” Hanley added. “Instead, an absent defendant must next be served with a court order asking them to appear and then fail to appear a second time before a warrant may be issued.”
Unsurprisingly, some folks think this is great.
Of course, there’s always a chorus of people who will tell you why you’re wrong. My Stateline reports:
The aim of the legislation would set free certain criminal offenders without having to wait in jail for their court date, because they can’t afford bond.
Gov. JB Pritzker (D) signed the law in February, saying “Transforming the pretrial detention system so low-income people aren’t thrown behind bars while only the wealthy walk free, diverting low-level drug crimes into substance-treatment programs and reducing excessive stays in prison.”
Advocates for the abolishment of cash bail view it as a pillar of institutional racism within the criminal justice system.
“That’s just inequitable that some people get to be free because they have money and other people have to remain incarcerated, which has all kinds of terrible consequences for people’s ability to work, for their housing, their whole families suffer,” said Ben Ruddell, ACLU of Illinois, according to WLS.
Illinois is about to get a lot more dangerous.
New York City is already suffering a massive crime wave after undergoing massive bail reform. (It’s completely unrelated that they now release most criminals without cash bail, according to popular opinion.) If you do feel it’s related then it seems like Chicago, already one of the most dangerous cities in America, is bound to quickly follow in the footsteps of the Big Apple when 2023 commences.
While I deplore the prison industrial complex and for-profit prisons that incarcerate people for decades to turn them into modern-day slaves, I also think we need deterrents in place to prevent crimes from occurring.
What do you think of bail reform that allows the accused to go free on “pretrial release?” Do you think it’s reasonable to let those accused of certain crimes be let go and expected to return for their trials? Do you think crime in Illinois will increase? Share your thoughts in the comments.
About Daisy
Daisy Luther is a coffee-swigging, adventure-seeking, globe-trotting blogger. She is the founder and publisher of three websites. 1) The Organic Prepper, which is about current events, preparedness, self-reliance, and the pursuit of liberty; 2) The Frugalite, a website with thrifty tips and solutions to help people get a handle on their personal finances without feeling deprived; and 3) PreppersDailyNews.com, an aggregate site where you can find links to all the most important news for those who wish to be prepared. Her work is widely republished across alternative media and she has appeared in many interviews.
Daisy is the best-selling author of 17 books, and runs a small digital publishing company with PDF guides, printables, and courses at SelfRelianceand Survival.com You can find her on Facebook, Pinterest, Gab, MeWe, Parler, Instagram, and Twitter.
This just leads to repeat offenders and those that committed the crime not having to suffer the consequences of their actions. Leading to more crime. Where are the victims rights in all of this?
Victims don’t have rights or deserve sympathy/consideration according to the left.
What could possibly go wrong?
Typo. Carla H.
What could go right? Homeowners can kill anyone trespassing and get out quickly. Take matters into your own hands instead of calling the police…might be the wild west but if people are smart they will use this to their advantage.
The system will probably detain homeowners since they most likely carry legally. We will sit in jail waiting to call the USCCA while criminals will be instantly returned to the streets. That’s the way this country is going now. I need to find another way to drive the tollway when traveling south now.
Holy freakin cats!!
This is just absurd!!
We wont to traveling through there now!!!!
Just hoping this doesnt start a trend in other cities n States…….the horror!!!!
So your telling me that I can go to Illinois get drunk and drive, go up and him the closest Biden supporter , flee from the authorities and elude them, set the Police Station on fire. Break into a pharmacy steal Drugs while intimidating the Pharmacist, get high and then kill the Pharmacist, kidnap a customer, threaten the Sherriff and then rob a 7/11 and THEN possibly go back to my home state and never have to pay penalty?
LOL!!
Sadly
Sounds precisely correct
This has got to be demoralizing for the police. Why even bother arresting these crooks? There’ll no doubt be more retirements and resignations. Law enforcement elsewhere is always looking for good people.
You *might* have a point if LE went after the hard crimes, instead of easy pickings. Legalizing marijuana took away the gravy busts. State’s Attorney office has to work to try and convict. And given the mind numbing lack of intelligence of most criminals, it doesn’t take much to find/arrest them.
“Last Wednesday, 37-year-old Omar Ursin went to pick up take-out for his family. Witnesses reported that as Ursin was driving down Medera Run Parkway in northeast Harris County, Texas, another car pulled alongside and fired one or more shots into Ursin’s car. When police arrived, they found Ursin had crashed into a tree in the median and was dead. The district attorney charged Ahsim Taylor and Jayland Womack, both 20, with Ursin’s murder.
Sadly, this would be all too common a story in Harris County as of late. Over the last two years, we have been averaging almost two murders per day in Harris County. But there are two details which make this crime stand out.
First, Ursin was a Precinct 3 constable deputy. He was off duty at the time. At this point, we do not know if his murder was related to him being a law enforcement officer.
Second, both Taylor and Womack were out on bail, pending trials for other felonies. Murder, to be specific. Taylor had been charged with capital murder because he killed someone during a robbery. Womack was charged with a killing that occurred during a drug deal.”
This Is Not Bail Reform, This Is Insanity
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2022/09/15/this_is_not_bail_reform_this_is_insanity_148193.html
“Weakened law enforcement policies and lesser penalties for these criminal bandit gangs have hit a critical juncture, as crime in the United States has hit proportions not seen in three decades.
The number of increasingly professional organized retail crime (ORC) rings and their frequent attacks have reached crisis scale, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF) in a Sept. 14 report.
These crimes have hurt thousands of businesses and have contributed to higher prices for consumers and loss of key retailers in many communities, as countless stores have closed to due to lack of security.”
https://www.theepochtimes.com/the-growing-threat-of-organized-retail-crime_4735905.html?utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=ZeroHedge
“Metropolitan Crime Commission Inc., a nonprofit that works on crime-reducing strategies in the city, said the homicide rate is up 141% compared with the same period in 2019. It pointed out carjackings are up 210%, shootings 100%, and armed robberies up 25%.
The city’s alarming spike in the homicide rate comes at the same time as “progressive prosecutor” Jason Williams became the district attorney of the metro area in early 2021. He promised a “more selective” approach to prosecutions that goes “beyond punishment.”
“Being more selective about prosecutions will allow us to focus on the crimes that matter most to all of us,” Williams said last year, adding, “We’ve got to go beyond punishment and invest in our community.”
Metropolitan Crime Commission recently said Williams’ criminal justice reforms have resulted in a “drastic decline in accountability for violent felony offenders.”
Residents told WSJ an “overwhelmed” police department is a significant factor in the rise in violent crime. ”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-orleans-murder-rate-crime-11663338008
100 of 102 Illinois state’s attorneys oppose cashless bail letting 2nd-degree murderers out of jail
“It’s the fact that trespassers cannot be removed from your property by police,” Pekau said. “They can’t lay a hand on someone. So how are you going to get someone who’s living in your shed or in your pool or took camp in your business to actually leave? And it’s going to lead to people taking the law into their own hands, which I don’t think any of us thinks is a really good idea.”
The law also negatively impacts police officers, as “anonymous complaints are now accepted, can be used to besmirch officers when they go and testify,” Pekau explained.
“This bill not only enabled criminals, it really targeted police officers to try and drive them out of the profession,” he added. “And frankly, I don’t know how we’re going to get good police officers to stay or get people who will be good police officers in the future to join with a law like this in place.”
Will County State’s Attorney Jim Glasgow, who is pushing for the SAFE-T Act to be repealed, said last month, “It will destroy the state of Illinois.”
“I have 640 people in the Will County jail,” Glasgow explained. “All their bonds will be extinguished on Jan. 1, and 60 are charged with murder.”
https://justthenews.com/government/courts-law/100-102-illinois-states-attorneys-oppose-cashless-bail-letting-2nd-degree
Madman seen smashing NYC McDonald’s with an ax is released without bail
https://nypost.com/2022/09/18/mcdonalds-ax-attack-suspect-michael-palacios-freed-without-bail/
This is INSANE! No accountability for hardened criminals? Expecting them to return for their court date (I don’t think so). You practically don’t need a police force if every criminal knows they won’t be put in jail and just let go! The country is going to He’ll in a Handbasket!
Happy, prosperous folks do not pay attention to power-lusting folks. Miserable, destitute folks often look to power-lusting folks to reduce their pain in exchange for their compliance.
This bail reform looks like another way to make folks miserable.
Arrest violent suspects
Release violent suspects
Repeat
When folks scream in pain from antics, change rules to criminalize more behavior, and to make pre-trial incarceration more likely.
Repeat back and forth: tighten rules, loosen rules, tighten rules tighter, loosen rules, tighten rules tighter, loosen rules, etc.
Mind you, failure to appear is still an offence, and provides more opportunities for making folks miserable. Original charges would still apply, trial or deal would still occur, fines and/or incarceration would still result from convictions.
Are government folks running out of money to keep accused folks in jail pending arrest resolution? Bail reform might be a way to keep from having to house, feed, clothe, and otherwise care for accused folks prior to trial.
No surprise. Amerika has become lawless. Like in the Wild West, everyone not a criminal should be packing a pistol. People would be more polite…
Actually, all those fall under kidnapping and murder to some degree but outright those crimes (especially kidnapping and murder) are considered very serious as to require your LIFE! So, they are throwing nearly every crime under the bus as not serious. I agree, your life there is about to take a terrifying turn.
KAMALA HARRIS AND OBAMA will be coming to power,THEY will throw out the US CONSTITUTION and come to take ALL weapons from the yellowest chicken shits in history,WELL YOU COWARDS HAVE LOST YOUR COUNTRY,and very soon you and your family will lose your life,UNLESS you take the mark of the beast and 90% of you will,the ones who refuse will be PUBICLY EXECUTED AND YOUR HEAD WILL BE CHOPPED OFF,the streets in america are about to turn BLOOD RED,and NO ONE will lift a finger to stop it…cowards do not deserve freedom,and your about to lose yours..cowards..
Arizona, so what have you done?
Well, since public officials are no longer giving special consideration, I won’t require any bail if I go ahead and drag one of them into the trunk of my car, drive into the woods and beat them senseless, tar and feather them, and then tell them unless they start thinking right we’re gonna do it again.
It’s part of that woke mentality, they decided to put themselves down on a mortal plane with the rest of us but since deterrence is no longer an issue, and certainly given Illinois record of apprehension, prosecution and conviction? Not a lot reasons not to bunny stomp the folks doing the most damage as an object lesson to the others.
The part about tarring and feathering has not been a part of common vernacular for at least a century and it’s probably time to bring it back.
Who in the HELL wrote this deadly and stupid mistake,and why in the HELL would any one in the state government of Illinois vote in favor to make this a deadly,stupid mistake? OH that’s right,Illinois is run by the democrats.Anything the democrats touch,turns to S***.
Yes. On top of that, they want sure that law-abiding citizens can’t protect themselves with their own gun. They crave chaos and anarchy.
I hope some of these Democrat politicians that voted for & signed this bill get exactly what they wish for.
That fat gubner Pritzker gets 2nd degree murdered by someone? Hey – release the perp – see if he shows up for his murder trial…same goes for “Larry” Lightfoot of Chicago, and other Congressional Communist lackeys that also support illegal immigration.
It’s called First and Second Degree Reckless Endangerment. It is a federal law and a Class D Felony. Start charging the state representatives and senators that voted for this BS along with the judges and district attorneys that utilze it. Throw them in jail, and revoke their their salaries and pensions.
F’ing IDIOTS!
Geez, reading your article was like watch a bailey campaign ad except you aren’t promising to repeal the law. Even if he possibly got elected, his little-r’s continue to be a minority. Judges have the legal authority to order cash bail and this law is likely to be a win-win. Judges on both ends of the spectrum (we hope) are ousted. Next up are the State’s Attorneys – too many waste taxpayer dollars on petty crime, others decline to prosecute serious crime. This law will peel back the first layer on them. Look at per capita crime by state for a better view (strictly per capita or specific crime per capita).
That should be the default for all crimes. Our justice system is supposed to be based on a concept of innocent until proven guilty. I don’t know why we’ve accepted this practice of guilty until it’s even been attempted to prove anyone guilty. Being held before a trial and only released on bail or bond was only supposed to be for special cases with extenuating circumstances that made fleeing likely. Not the default for all people charged with anything. You have to make these decisions based on the assumption of innocence. And why should an innocent man be locked up, or forced to pay a fine to be released?
Now, there can certainly be plenty of improvements made to the justice system that would help everything go more smoothly and quickly. But that’s a different issue. This one here is a simple matter of principle.
An additional requirent of the SAFE-T act is that police are prohibited from arresting trespassers, only a ticket can be issued. Does this mean the police are not allowed to remove a squatter from ones home?
That is correct.
If the IL law is anything like the NYC one, soft on criminals, tough on LEOs from doing their job, it is the law abiding citizens of IL who will feel the brunt of this law.
Dang, I forgot about the 4 local cops arrested for domestic violence and/or sexual assault. All bonded out in no time hence were back on the street (and on administrative pay no less). Last one is likely going to trial despite the alleged victim not pressing charges. Guess the State’s Attorney has personal bone to pick.
Can’t wait until the whining/lawsuits re: LE budget cuts start. Will hit them hard when the gravy jail time of the homeless swiping a candy bar/soda starts.
I strongly feel it’s been way overdue for Illinois to change the cash bail policy. I think it’s great that poor people that can’t afford to pay for there freedom awaiting there trials can now have the same rights and privileges as the rich . Police are just scared now because they have to trade there guns and night sticks for a pen and paper to right only citations or tickets . Times have changed to all the Chicago and Illinois police , Now the laws are finally in favor of the people instead of all you cops out there thinking and feeling like you have all the power out on the streets just because you carry a badge and gun ( Those days are over in Jan 2023 . My suggestion to all Illinois law enforcement cash in for a early retirement and move to Wisconsin!!!!! To everyone who is sitting in a prison cell in the state of Illinois awaiting trial get ready to pack up your things because pre trial freedom awaits you in just a few more months !!!!! P.S. Under the Safety Act Law be aware all you pigs out there that make sure your future arrests or detainments are legal and righteous otherwise guess what you will be sued and severely investigated by Internal Affairs!!!! Read the new law people Illinois is going to be finally free and our voices will be heard anytime a pig approaches us on the street !!! All you Illinois pigs I am sorry to say but you lost this fight !!!!! Be sure to trade your guns in for a pen and a ticket pad after the new year !!
IDIOTS !!!