Many Illinoisans have been scratching their heads when it comes to the SAFE-T Act. A Kankakee County judge sided with prosecutors, like McLean County State’s Attorney Erika Reynolds, and sheriffs from across the state. But the ruling will only effect a portion of the SAFE-T Act.
“The plaintiffs argued on behalf of defendants and victims,” said Reynolds. “We argued that defendants are entitled to some sort of bail whenever they are charged with a crime. Our concern was that under the Pre-trial Fairness Act that there would be people sitting in jail after a detention determination is made and then they’re stuck in jail until the case is resolved.”
The court was in favor of the plaintiffs in that defendants should have some type of bail. Another argument presented by the plaintiffs was that the SAFE-T Act violated the Separation of Powers Clause.
They also argued that the Victim Rights Act was being violated by the SAFE-T Act.
“The victim has the right to have the victim and the victim’s family considered in denying or fixing the amount of bail and determining whether or not release was appropriate and then setting conditions if the defendant is released from custody,” said Reynolds. “The Pre-trial Fairness Act never considers the victim. Illinois has always been a state that has been very aggressive in protecting victims’ rights until now.”
Reynolds said it was frustrating to the plaintiffs to see the defendants, like Governor JB Pritzker, lie in public.
“They were out saying that the victim’s safety is out paramount consideration and I heard a thousand different times from people running for office that supported this that if there was concern about the victim’s safety and the judge made that determination then the defendant could be held…and that is false,” said Reynolds. “Domestic battery was a hot button issue and the Governor specifically said, ‘The domestic abuse victim would be protected.’ But in the litigation they took the opposite approach and indicated only felonies can be detained.”
Domestic battery, violations of Order of Protections, or a DUI are all misdemeanors.
The plaintiffs also argue the SAFE T Act unconstitutionally amended Article I, Section 9 of the state’s constitution, which codified cash bail in the state.
Reynolds, the youngest attorney to hold the States Attorneys office in McLean County, said the Pre-trial Fairness Act was addressed by Judge Thomas Cunnington and he deemed it unconstitutional. Now that only applied to the counties named in the lawsuit. So what was next? The Illinois Supreme Court issued a stay and that makes it to where Cunnington’s ruling applies to the entire state.
Now in March 2023 the Illinois Supreme Court will hear oral arguments about the Pre-trial Fairness Act and make a decision. Among those making the decision is Mary Kay O’Brien, who received $1 million from Governor JB Pritzker, a defendant in the lawsuit, and she received $350,000 from Speaker of the House Christopher Welch, another defendant in the lawsuit.
Also new to the Illinois Supreme Court is Elizabeth Rochford, who received money from Pritzker and Welch as well.
In November, Democrats maintained control of the state Supreme Court after two candidates, Elizabeth Rochford and Mary Kay O’Brien won open seats over Republican rivals.
Pritzker has said that the elimination of cash bail would protect a hypothetical mother stealing bread to feed her family from sitting in jail. Reynolds said that does not happen in McLean County.
“People don’t realize that this system exists and that a prosecutor can essentially go into court and request whatever bond they want and they automatically get it and that people are held on very minor offenses and the reality is that is just not true,” said Reynolds.
There’s a Category A and B. Category A are serious offenses like murders and sex offenses, very violent crimes. Category B are anything that is not included in the Category A offenses or Class C misdemeanors, Class three and four felonies are all in Category B. Category B means you get a chance bail.
For example, a criminal trespassing into a building is a Category B offense. Say the court sets a bond of $3,000 then you have to pay 10% and that’s $300. Now, what you might not know is that this hypothetical defendant gets $30 a day towards his credit…so in 10 days he’s automatically released.
“Not only do you get that access to getting out after you term out but then you are also granted a bond review hearing that is automatic,” said Reynolds.
A bond review hearing is essentially a chance to score the defendant using different things in trying to understand their risk to the community.
Last year the States Attorneys office in McLean County charged 1,300 felonies, 1,300 misdemeanors, over 19,000 traffic offenses, over 200 juvenile petitions and in the jail right now there’s about 220 inmates.
Of those 220 inmates…some are awaiting transfer to Department of Human Services, these are people who are unfit to stand trial. There was some ligation against JB Pritzker for the slacking of the DHS for not transferring the inmates out to get them treatment at a state run facility. The General Assembly cut the DHS a break and relaxed the timeline for those transfers to happen which has led McLean County to pull out of that lawsuit.
