In September, we discussed the effects of New York’s Bail Elimination Act, in particular, the law’s encouragement of recidivism. But New York is not the only state to decide that if they are going to have a crime problem, they might as well go all the way.
Recently, the Governor of Illinois, JB Pritzker, signed into law a comprehensive series of criminal justice reforms. Known as the SAFE-T Act, the bill “passed by the Illinois General Assembly during the final hours of its January lame-duck session, includes changes to almost every area of the justice system — from police accountability to pretrial detention to sentencing.” According to the Illinois Legislature’s Black Caucus, “Today is a historic first step toward winning real safety and justice in our communities.”
How will the Reform Bill accomplish these goals?
“Law enforcement is not permitted to purchase military equipment such as firearms of .50-caliber or higher and weaponized vehicles or aircraft. Officers are also not allowed to use chokeholds but are ordered to intervene when another officer is using excessive force. By 2025, all law enforcement agencies will be required to have body cameras — these cameras have to be turned on when an officer is in uniform and responding to a call.”
Further, the bill provides for the elimination of “felony murder” charges – that is, when someone is killed during the commission of a felony, such as a burglary or robbery, “even in cases in which police or another third party caused the death. In one 2019 case, prosecutors in Lake County, Illinois, charged five teenagers with the murder of their friend, who was shot and killed by a homeowner as the group allegedly attempted a burglary.”
The new law “narrows the definition of felony murder, though the changes do not apply retroactively to those sentenced under the old rule. Prosecutors will now be prohibited from filing first-degree murder charges in cases where a third party, like a police officer or a homeowner, caused the death.”
Further, “Police officers in the state must be certified by the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board…(t)he new law empowers the training and standards board to investigate misconduct allegations and pursue decertification, regardless of whether an officer was charged, convicted, or disciplined by their department. The law also requires all Illinois police departments to report misconduct investigations to the state…”
There can be debate on whether or not these changes truly “win real safety and justice” for any community in Illinois. But the one change that has created the most controversy is the new bail law.
Under the new law, “(w)henever there is a reference in any Act to ‘bail,’ ‘bail bond,’ or ‘conditions of bail,’ these terms shall be construed as ‘pretrial release’ or ‘conditions of pretrial release.'”
As described by Fox News contributor Gianno Caldwell in the New York Post, “(t)he Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today Act will completely eliminate cash bail for the majority of defendants charged with criminal acts. Judges will decide whether or not to release defendants on a case by case basis, based on if they feel a person poses a threat to the community or is a flight risk. Seeing as many Illinois judges rule like progressive activists, it’s likely they will send many criminals back into communities without hesitation… (h)ardened criminals, charged with everything from threatening a public official to armed burglary to arson, will be emboldened and empowered…(t)o make matters worse, offenders released on electronic monitoring devices must be in violation of their parole for 48 hours before it will be considered a crime. In the state’s largest county — Cook County, which encompasses Chicago — at any given time, there are more than 3,000 people wearing ankle monitors. This includes about 100 who have been charged with murder.”
According to Illinois Governor Pritzker, this “legislation marked ‘a substantial step toward dismantling the systemic racism that plagues our communities, our state and our nation and brings us closer to true safety, true fairness and true justice.'” But if you ask a coalition “comprised of the Illinois Sheriffs’ Association, the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police, Illinois Troopers Lodge 41 and state and local branches of the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police,” the Democratic governor of Illinois has chosen “to listen to a few strident political voices rather than the 120,000 petition signing citizens who plainly saw the bill for what it is…we sincerely hope that we will not be proven right about this new law, that it won’t cause police officers to leave the profession in droves and handcuff those who remain so they can’t stop crimes against people and property.”
For a progressive like Pritzker, eliminating “the systemic racism that plagues” the criminal justice structure is the path to “true fairness.” Nonetheless, the question remains – will these reforms bring “true safety” and “true justice” to the people of Illinois?
Currently, according to the Citywide ComStat published by the Chicago Police Department for the week of September 19-25, 2022, there have been 512 murders in Chicago in 2022 to date. That is less than the 611 reported in 2021 (with 3 months left in 2022), but compare that to the 388 murders reported in 2019. Further, there have been 6,148 robberies so far in 2022, up from the 5,259 reported in all of 2021. Reported burglaries stand at 5,449, also up from 2021’s 4,356. But most shocking is the increase in car theft – 12,153 in 2022 to date, as opposed to 7,101 reported in 2021. That’s almost double the 2021 figure, and I repeat, there are still 3 months left in the year 2022
It is hard to imagine how eliminating bail for robbers, burglars and car thefts will bring “true safety” to the community, or reduce the incidents of these crimes, which are increasing exponentially.
As for “true justice,” don’t look to Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot. When the CEO of McDonald’s “Chris Kempczinski warned in a speech at the Economic Club of Chicago luncheon…that it was time to ‘face facts’ and acknowledge that companies have been leaving the city over the past year due in part to rising crime,” Mayor Lightfoot fired back “I think what would have been helpful is for the McDonald’s CEO to educate himself before he spoke.”
In what way does CEO Kempczinski need to “educate himself?” His statement was objectively true. For instance, “Gary Rabine, founder of the Rabine Group and owner of 13 businesses, told Fox News Digital…that surging crime in Chicago was a driving factor in his decision to pull his road paving company out of the city after his crews were repeatedly robbed, sometimes in broad daylight, even after adding security to the jobs.” Further, “billionaire Ken Griffin announced he is moving his hedge-fund firm Citadel out of Chicago after citing crime as a major concern over the past few months. ‘If people aren’t safe here, they’re not going to live here,’ Griffin told the Wall Street Journal in April. ‘I’ve had multiple colleagues mugged at gunpoint. I’ve had a colleague stabbed on the way to work. Countless issues of burglary. I mean, that’s a really difficult backdrop with which to draw talent to your city from.'”
If Governor Pritzker and Mayor Lightfoot believe this new crime bill will lead to “true justice” in the State of Illinois and the City of Chicago, there is a good chance the both of them, and the criminals they have enabled, will be the only ones left to enjoy the utopia they’ve created.
Everyone else law abiding will have moved to places where the law is enforced, and criminals are incarcerated for their crimes.
Judge John Wilson (ret.) served on the bench in NYC.
Photo: Chicago skyline (Pixabay)