Illinois Safe-T Act Set to Eliminate Cash Bail and Increase Crime

Illinois Safe-T Act Set to Eliminate Cash Bail and Increase Crime

By Mark Schwendau

Illinois is set to be the first state in the union to eliminate cash bail effective January 1, 2023, and also restrict who can be arrested against the will of most Illinoisans. The Safe-T Act will not only eliminate cash bail but will also open the doors to freedom for many people currently locked up who can’t make bail.

We first reported on this as a developing story here:

“Illinois’ Safe” T” Act Will Get Innocents Killed, But Criminals Will Do Fine.”

Grundy County Sheriff Ken Briley was one of the first to raise concerns last month because the law will ban arrest for people accused of certain misdemeanors. He cited trespassing as an example: “Today, I can arrest him if you sign a complaint for trespassing. January 1st, I’m not going to be able to do that. The law says I have to write him a ticket and leave.”

Sheriff Briley expressed to Chicago WLS-TV channel seven he worries about the possible ramifications in his community. “And if we can’t arrest them and solve people’s problems, we don’t want people to take matters into their own hands,” Briley said.

Grundy County State’s Attorney, Jason Helland, is also raised concerns.

“When no cash bail applies to every jurisdiction, all 102 counties in the state of Illinois, I’m really concerned about seeing criminal activity that we’ve never seen in this area,” he said.

However, reform advocates use the excuse that keeping people locked up simply because they can’t afford bail is wrong.

“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.

The bill was passed in the dead of night, and Illinois lawmakers allege they only had 40 minutes to read the 800-page bill.

One of the most vocal to speak out against this new Illinois law thus far is Orland Park (Illinois) Mayor Keith Pekau.

His speech is going viral online now as he states:

“As of January 1st, 2023, the following things will go into effect, and people need to be aware of this. It abolishes cash bail for almost every offense. This includes, but isn’t limited to, kidnapping, armed robbery, second-degree murder, drug-induced homicide, and aggravated DUI. Threatening a public official and aggravated fleeing and eluding. Offenders released on electronic monitoring must be in violation for 48 hours before law enforcement can act. They could almost drive to Alaska before we could even look for them. It denies victims their constitutional rights. And keep this in mind, businesses and homeowners officers will no longer be able to remove trespassers from your residence or your businesses. Someone could decide to live in your shed, and all we can do is give them a ticket. You have to decide what level of force is required to remove them and whether or not it’s legal. This is a massive threat to the residents of Orland Park, Cook County, and Illinois.”

“Mayor Keith Pekau’s Warning” – Illinois Family Action

While the new law still gives judges the discretion to keep suspects deemed dangerous locked up without bail, many in law enforcement are concerned too many people who should be behind bars won’t be after January 1.

The recidivism rate for the Illinois Department of Corrections is reported as being 17% of inmates returning within one year of release.  That number jumps up to 43% within three years of release. Like all over the country, repeat offenders outweigh the reformed significantly.

Needless to say, law abiding citizens are very upset and concerned about what this new law will mean to their safety and wellbeing.  Passage of this new law cause many to speculate that gun sales will skyrocket between now and the New Year.

The Wall Street Journal recently reported, “Gun sales dropped in 47 states over the first eight months of 2022. The sharpest drop was in Illinois, where they have fallen over 61%.”

But a recent article in Cities929.com of Normal (Illinois) titled, “Illinois Reports Higher Gun Sales per Capita Than Most States This Year” said, “In Illinois, an estimated 2,391,500 guns were sold from January through July 2022 based on FBI background check data. Adjusted for population, this is equal to about 188.1 firearm sales for every 1,000 people, the second highest gun sale rate among states.”

Chicago has become a national disgrace as a killing field under the leadership of Democrat Mayor Lori Lightfoot. Illinois has always been blue but this Midterm Election year it may turn red.

Illinois residents should wait until January to make any threats against lawmakers about passage of this bill as the bill will cause authorities to go lighter on them after that date as per the new language of the bill.

As somebody asked in a social media post, “What is the end game?”

The end game is communism but to get there we first must have chaos and anarchy.

Copyright © 2022 by Mark S. Schwendau

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Mark S. Schwendau is a retired technology professor who has always had a sideline in news-editorial writing where his byline has been, “Bringing little known news to people who simply want to know the truth.”  He classifies himself as a Christian conservative who God cast to be a realist.  Mark is an award-winning educator who has published 7 books and numerous peer-reviewed trade journal articles some of which can be found on the Internet.  His father was a fireman/paramedic while his mother was a registered nurse.  He holds multiple degrees in technology education, industrial management, OSHA Safety, and Driver’s Education.  His personal website is www.IDrawIWrite.Tech.

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