DeKalb Times

Gov. JB Pritzker has signed policies that will end Illinois judges’ ability to set cash bail before a defendant’s first court appearance, a victory for criminal reform that negatively grabbed Republican attention.

Republicans opposing the criminal justice reform effort argue that talking points the ACLU uses come from misrepresenting the topic.

In September, state Rep. Dave Severin (R-Benton) encouraged constituents to pay attention to politician and police concerns over the Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today (SAFE-T) Act; the North Egypt News reported. He maintained that the legislation, which is scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, will endanger "residents, police, witnesses, and victims of crime."

"If we want to ensure every neighborhood across Illinois is a safe place to live then we cannot ignore warnings from law enforcement officials and public safety experts," Severin told the News.

He has urged legislators to repeal the act.

"Today is the one-year anniversary of House Democrats passing sweeping legislation to defund, disarm, and disrespect our police," Severin said in a Jan. 13 statement on Facebook, quoted by the Carbondale Reporter. "House Democrats voted yes, House Republicans voted NO. Violent crime is up, police retirements are increasing, and our communities are less safe. House Republicans are sponsoring legislation that would repeal the so-called ‘SAFE-T Act.' Support HR 598 - Repeal the SAFE-T Act now!"

Earlier this year, Severin cosponsored legislation aimed at cleaning up errors contained in the original SAFE-T Act legislation.

"The corrections range from misspellings to changing effective dates of some provisions of the law," the Jan. 7 edition of "Severin Says" reported. "I voted NO on the original anti-police bill and I voted no on the latest attempt to put a band-aid on it. The overall concept of hampering our police’s ability to do their job is bad and the overall bill was terrible. I am firmly pro-police and pro public-safety. We have to do more to protect our communities and businesses in the face of rising crime. Criminals need to know Illinois is serious about punishing perpetrators of violent crime. We can and must do better!"

Severin was first elected to the Illinois House in 2017, the House website said. His legislative experience includes serving on the Judiciary - Criminal and Mental Health & Addiction committees. He resides in Benton.