Illinois State. Sen. Dave Syverson (R-Rockford) | Facebook/Dave Syverson
Illinois State. Sen. Dave Syverson (R-Rockford) | Facebook/Dave Syverson
In a Nov. 4 Facebook post, Sen. Dave Syverson shared a week in review that covered a variety of topics, including lawsuits against the Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today (SAFE-T) Act and former House Speaker MIchael Madigan.
“Fifty-eight lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the SAFE-T Act were officially combined into one comprehensive suit during the week, while yet another report ranks Illinois toward the bottom of the list of tax-friendly states,” he wrote on Facebook.
Governor J.B. Pritzker signed the SAFE-T Act that’ll end cash bail, an unfavorable move for Illinois’ GOP.
In his week-in-review, Syverson further commented on the lawsuits against the SAFE-T Act. "The number of state’s attorneys who have challenged the SAFE-T Act is further proof that the new law is not ready for statewide implementation. While there is talk of a fourth trailer bill to the SAFE-T Act, no legislation has been read into the record," Syverson said.
The American Bar Association reported approximately 500 thousand people are in jail because they couldn’t pay their bail. The ACLU reported studies showed people are more likely to take plea deals and plea guilty to crimes they didn’t commit because they couldn’t afford bail.
On Oct. 31, the Illinois Supreme consolidated the lawsuits alleging the SAFE-T Act is unconstitutional into a single case, according to a KWQC news article dated Nov. 1. Jo Daviess and Knox Counties' lawsuits are included in the consolidated case, which is required to be filed in Kankakee County.
The State Journal-Register reported that an Illinois judge could still decide if a person is a “risk of endangerment” for the community and needs to stay in prison.
In October, the Center Square reported that Pritzker acknowledged there are changes coming for the SAFE-T Act. “What we’re aiming at here is keeping murderers and rapists and domestic abusers in jail and not keeping people who can’t afford bail for a non-violent offense … not putting them in jail, but allowing them to get out of jail,” Pritzker told reporters at an unrelated news event.
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