ILLINOIS INVITES MORE CRIMINALS TO TAKE RESIDENCE ~

 In Illinois, Democrats recently passed a new law that will eliminate the cash bail system starting on January 1, 2023.  This is according to the new law aimed at reforming the state’s criminal justice system.

This will result in the automatic release on no bail while awaiting court date of those accused of certain felonies, such as “second-degree murder, aggravated battery, and arson without bail, as well as drug-induced homicide, kidnapping, burglary, robbery, intimidation, aggravated DUI, aggravated fleeing and eluding, drug offenses and threatening a public official.”

Democrat Gov. JB Pritzker signed HB 3653 THE SAFE-T (Safety, Accountability, Fairness, and Equity- Today) ACT into 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.”

Republican Mayor of Orland Park, Keith Pekau, said in a press conference recently that this new law would deny victims their constitutional rights.

“It abolishes cash bail for almost every offense,” Pekau said. “This includes, but isn’t limited to, kidnapping, armed robbery, second-degree murder, drug-induced homicide, aggravated DUI, threatening a public official, and aggravated fleeing and eluding.”

“Offenders released on electronic monitoring have to be in violation for 48 hours before law enforcement can act. They can almost drive to Alaska before we can even look for them,” he said.

“It denies victims their constitutional rights. And keep this in mind, businesses and homeowners 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 in Illinois,” Pekau warned.

 

Governor Pritzker has made it easier than ever for drug traffickers and cartels to operate in Illinois.

“So how does this affect the war on drugs? Under Pritzker’s SAFE-T Act, it’s possible drug kingpins, smugglers, traffickers or distributors of illegal drugs won’t be detained before trial, no matter the quantity of deadly substances they are accused of possessing. Astonishingly, Pritzker and the Democrats don’t seem to believe there is a connection between drug dealers, street gangs, cartels and the gun violence our state sees daily,” Chicago Tribune reported.

Below is the summary of HB 3653: THE SAFE-T (Safety, Accountability, Fairness, and Equity- Today) ACT

Police Reform and Accountability

• Creates a more robust statewide certification and decertification system for police officers

• Requires the use of body worn cameras by all police departments

• Empowers the Attorney General to conduct pattern or practice investigations

• Updates use of force standards, creates duties to intervene and render aid, and requires training on racial sensitivity, use of force, de-escalation, mental health and crisis intervention

• Provides for mental health awareness and screenings for officer wellness

• Requires a predicate offense for a resisting arrest offense to be applicable

• Reforms crowd control and arrest techniques, including banning chokeholds

• Requires the permanent retention of police misconduct records

• Requires use of special prosecutor for officer-involved deaths

• Removes the sworn affidavit requirement for the filing of police misconduct complaints

• Prevents police departments from acquiring and using certain military surplus equipment

• Requires police to develop plans to protect vulnerable people present during search warrant raids

Criminal Justice Reform

• Expands first responder/co-responder deflection programs with funding prioritized for programs in communities impacted by the war on drugs, who have police/community relations issues and lack access to mental health and drug treatment

• Eliminates cash bail to ensure a fairer pre-trial detention system based on public safety and not on wealth

• Eliminates license suspensions for unpaid fines and fees due to red light camera and traffic offenses

• Modernizes sentencing laws by reforming the habitual criminal penalty enhancement and felony murder statute

• Limits short-term commitments for individuals with 4 months or less left on their sentence. • Eliminates Mandatory Supervised Release for Class 3 and 4 felonies, unless the Prisoner Review Board determines it is needed after a risk and needs assessment. Shortens Mandatory Supervised Release terms for all other felony categories.

• Increases the Director of the Department of Corrections’ discretion to award sentence credit and expands awards of credit for completion of educational degrees and programming

• Provides services and programming for pregnant incarcerated individuals, and requires that medical treatment be provided to them without unreasonable delay

• Requires that 3 phone calls be provided within 3 hours of arrival at a police station and before questioning

• Increases transparency and accountability by requiring investigation and reporting of deaths in custody

• Ends the practice of prison gerrymandering by requiring that incarcerated individuals be counted as part of their home district and not the district of detention

• Expands services for crime victims and supports compensation of crime victims