Republicans Continue Spreading Disinformation About Historical Criminal Justice Reform

Westchester, Ill. – Republican officials and their allies have resorted to using right-wing political mailers disguised as newspapers intended to mislead Illinoisans and spread falsehoods about the historical criminal justice reform law, called the Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today Act (SAFE-T Act).

Republicans have claimed this law will make communities less safe, but the SAFE-T Act eliminates a system that allows defendants to pay their way out of jail regardless of the crimes they're accused of committing. It now gives judges the discretion to hold people in jail based on the risk they pose to the community rather than access to cash, which is why victim advocacy groups have been a vocal supporter of this law.

Lake County State's Attorney Eric Rinehart is also a proponent of the law because he believes in a "detention system that puts victims first."

"Our justice system will no longer favor those with access to cash, and our victims will not longer live in fear that their attacker will convince someone to post money on their behalf," Rinehart said in the Chicago Tribune. "This new system is supported by leading victims' advocacy groups in Illinois, including the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence and the Network — which has more than 50 member organizations that serve survivors. The critics of the new detention system have never explained why they are out of step with so many experts who believe in supporting victims."

Most recently, Republican leaders in Springfield claim this law will increase property taxes and communities will lose out on money they receive from cash bond, which is not an ethical way to fund local governments. They also failed to mention that Democrats passed a budget that included nearly half a billion dollars for public safety, $124 million going directly to local police departments across the state and more than $30 million for body camera grants.

"This is just another desperate attempt by Republicans to fear monger and spread falsehoods," said House Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch. "In our most recent budget, Democrats significantly increased funding for local governments and police departments. We included more than $27 million for training services, we allocated millions to help with officer retention and mental health screenings, and we're targeting youth development programs and trauma recovery services to tackle root causes of violence. We know that we must address public safety in a holistic way."

The Coalition to End Money Bail also pointed out that the SAFE-T Act would not require any increase in local property taxes, and that pretrial incarceration costs an estimated $40,567 per person per year.

"The SAFE-T Act does not require counties to raise property taxes to fund the criminal legal system after eliminating cash bail. For the last two years, the Administrative Office of Illinois Courts has been working with stakeholders from every branch of government to ensure that counties across Illinois have the guidance and resources they need to effectively make this transition. Non-partisan and bi-partisan groups agree that forcibly extracting revenue through a system of cash bail from low-income people and families living in poverty is not a financially responsible, sustainable, or ethical way to fund government operations."