Illinois Supreme Court Pauses Cash Bail System on Felonies Including Second-Degree Murder and Kidnapping from Taking Effect Today, Jan. 1
The elimination of cash bail in Illinois was set to go into effect on Sunday, January 1, 2023 but the state’s highest court halted the reform on Saturday.
Democrats in Illinois passed a new law to eliminate the cash bail system starting today. The new law aimed at reforming the state’s criminal justice system.
Democrat Gov. JB Pritzker signed HB 3653, THE SAFE-T (Safety, Accountability, Fairness, and Equity- Today) ACT, into law in February 2022, saying “Transforming the pretrial detention system so low-income people aren’t thrown behind bars while only the wealthy walk free, diverting low-level drug crimes into substance-treatment programs and reducing excessive stays in prison.”
Republican Mayor of Orland Park, Keith Pekau, said in a press conference recently that this new law would deny victims their constitutional rights.
“It abolishes cash bail for almost every offense,” Pekau said. “This includes, but isn’t limited to, kidnapping, armed robbery, second-degree murder, drug-induced homicide, aggravated DUI, threatening a public official, and aggravated fleeing and eluding.”
“Offenders released on electronic monitoring have to be in violation for 48 hours before law enforcement can act. They can almost drive to Alaska before we can even look for them,” he said.
“It denies victims their constitutional rights. And keep this in mind, businesses and homeowners will no longer be able to remove trespassers from your residence or your businesses. Someone could decide to live in your shed, and all we can do is give them a ticket. You have to decide what level of force is required to remove them and whether or not it’s legal. This is a massive threat to the residents of Orland Park, Cook County in Illinois,” Pekau warned.
The law means that 12 non-detainable offenses will no longer require a paid cash bail:
Second-degree murderAggravated batteryArsonDrug-induced homicideKidnappingBurglaryRobberyIntimidationAggravated fleeing and eludingAggravated driving under the influenceDrug offensesThreatening a public official
On Thursday, a Kankakee, Illinois County judge ruled that parts of the Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today, SAFE-T Act, violate the Illinois’ Constitution.
“Because, as the Illinois Supreme Court has determined, the administration of the justice system is an inherent power of the courts upon which the legislature may not infringe and the setting of bail falls within that
Source: The Gateway Pundit
