Candidates for House districts in the south and southwest suburbs have mixed views on whether the aspirations of a sweeping criminal justice reform law will meet reality.
Supporters hold signs during a press conference regarding the Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today Act , which eliminates cash bonds for certain offenses including kidnapping. The SAFE-T Act “enacts extensive reform impacting many areas of the criminal justice system, including pre-arrest diversion, policing, pretrial, sentencing, and corrections.”
Proponents say elimination of cash bail addresses a long-standing problem that keeps poorer defendants, primarily people of color, locked up while awaiting trial because they don’t have the means to post bond.Starting Jan. 1, judges will weigh several factors, including the threat a defendant poses to the public, in deciding which defendants should remain in custody pending trial., contending Gov. J.B.
Democrat Fran Hurley, whose 35th District is home to many Chicago police officers, said she voted against the legislation. She said she had spoken with officials throughout law enforcement who raised concerns. Incumbent Democratic Rep. Nicholas “Nick” Smith said he believes the law, rather than being more lenient toward suspected criminals, will instead give “judges more power to hold offenders in jail because it is based on risk to the public, not simply the defendant’s access to money.”
“We need to build a justice system that works for everyone, regardless of their race, wealth, or gender. We need reforms that target these inequities in the system,” Slone said.Incumbent Democratic Rep. Debbie Meyers-Martin said she would propose creating a task force “designed specifically to monitor and track the success or failure and effectiveness of the goals of this legislation and report back to the governor and the General Assembly,” she wrote.
Slone said any data and reports regarding the SAFE-T Act gathered over the next year will help determine the law’s effectiveness but, like Flowers, said the law could and should be open to alterations.