West Central Reporter

In a Monday Facebook post, state Sen. Jil Tracy (R-Quincy) criticized the current form of the 2021 Illinois Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today (SAFE-T) Act and called for sweeping alterations to it.

"Many have asked about the So called Safe-T-Act that takes effect Jan. 1, 2023," Tracy said in the post. "This article explains why I, along with so many law enforcement members are so opposed and seek major changes to the bill prior to its taking effect."

The article mentioned, published by Capitol News Illinois, notes that "Republicans and state’s attorneys have continued to fight for changes to the law, up to a full repeal, arguing that while the intent may be to empower judges to detain more dangerous individuals, the bill as written is too limiting."

The Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority published an article elaborating on the SAFE-T Act. Points of interest included the elimination of cash bail and changes to the use of force.

The State's Attorneys for Kankakee and Will counties filed lawsuits Friday, alleging that the SAFE-T Act violated the state Constitution by not allowing voters to weigh in; a recent WLS report said. Gov. JB Pritzker's office released a statement following the filing of the first lawsuit accusing it of being a "weak attempt to protect the status quo that lets murderers and abusers pay their way out of jail."