In a Dec. 1 news release, Sen. Terri Bryant issued a statement on the changes to the SAFE-T Act.
“Today, the Democratic lawmakers of the General Assembly chose to do the bare minimum to address the concerns of Illinoisans about the implications of the SAFE-T Act,” Bryant said. “This bill does far too little to make the SAFE-T Act a decent law, let alone a good law for the people of Illinois.”
In the June 28, 2022 election, Bryant ran unopposed in her efforts to serve the residents of District 58.
In her news release, Bryant's statement continued:
“The judges of our state still don’t have the necessary broad discretion to ensure that we keep the public safe. There are still categories of offenses that can’t be held, including burglary. It does not address the unfunded mandates that will cost our counties millions of dollars and force those officials to choose between cutting funding for other priorities or raising taxes. At the end of the day, the good components of this bill don’t come close to making up for all of the issues contained in the original law. We could have and should have done more to ensure that the people of Illinois will be safe and have the best possible criminal justice system.”
With House Bill 1095, which has been sent to Gov. J.B. Pritzker for signing, the number of crimes that individuals could be denied pretrial release has been expanded. The standard for pretrial release has been expanded too - now prosecutors must prove that an individual’s presents “a real and present threat to the safety of any person or persons or the community, based on the specific articulable facts of the case."
The SAFE-T Act has received criticism from law enforcement, police unions and many Republican state lawmakers. Its reforms would reverberate throughout the justice system, including pre-arrest diversion, pretrial proceedings, sentencing and corrections, according to the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority.
Alerts Sign-up