DeKalb Times

Illinois State Senator Dave Syverson (R-Cherry Valley) spoke out regarding changes made to the SAFE-T Act in a press release issued the day of the Senate's approval.

 In a press release on Dec 1, besides reiterating his disapproval of House Bill 1095 in any form, Syverson called the approval a strictly partisan vote and noted that it now advances to the House of Representatives for consideration.

"State’s attorneys and law-enforcement personnel from across Illinois have talked for months about how their work – and the ultimate safety of their communities – will be threatened when some provisions of the state’s controversial overhaul of its criminal justice system take effect next year,” Syverson said. 

The senator said that revisions to SAFE-T Act will not solve the problem. 

“Making a bad bill ‘less bad’ is certainly not the complete answer. The SAFE-T Act should have been repealed and lawmakers focused more on protecting the innocent public as opposed to expanding rights of criminals. The minor fixes or improvements in House Bill 1095 do not address the large underlying problems and concerns with the SAFE-T Act," he said.

According to Syverson, safety will be compromised under the SAFE-T Act.

"I am proud to stand with our local law-enforcement, and on the side of protecting our families. We need to be very clear that voting for this fix means you are supporting the underlying bill,” Syverson said. “It is like painting over a rotting wall. The changes might make it look better at first but eventually, the end result of the SAFE-T Act is that Illinois families will be less safe in their own communities."

In addition to the December statement, Syverson has offered other criticisms of the SAFE-T Act, such as in a Facebook post on Nov. 4.

“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.

Ultimately, Syverson did not vote on House Bill 1095, which passed out of the Senate in a 38-17 vote, according to WIFR. Joining him in this stance were Democratic State Senators Melinda Bush (Grayslake), Michael Hastings (Frankfurt) and Emil Jones III (Chicago).