DeKalb Times

In a Dec. 29 Facebook post, Sen. Brian W. Stewart (R-Freeport) reacted to Kankakee Judge Thomas Cunnington's ruling against the SAFE-T Act.

“Despite being heavily opposed, the controversial no cash bail provision was set to become law on Jan. 1, 2023,” he posted on Facebook. “To address all the controversy and the tremendous public outcry against this new law, the Senate passed House Bill 1095 on Dec. 1, but I could not support those changes either because at the end of the day, the SAFE-T Act would still have made the public less safe than they are today.”

On Dec. 28, 2022, Kankakee County Chief Judge Thomas W. Cunnington granted a summary judgment against Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, Gov. J.B. Pritzker, House Speaker Emanuel Chris Welch, and Senate President Don Harmon. He noted in the decision that, "Bail exists, as it has for centuries, to balance a defendant’s rights with the requirements of the criminal justice system, assuring the defendant’s presence at trial, and the protection of the public." He also wrote: "The court finds that plaintiffs meet their burden because a legislative prohibition of monetary bail in all instances clearly violates the constitution’s express mandate of separation of powers. Specifically, because under section 110-1.5 all judges will be categorically prohibited from even considering in their discretion a monetary component to the conditions of release, the judiciary’s inherent authority to set or deny bond will necessarily be infringed in all cases if P.A. 101-652 and P.A. 102-1104 become effective."

The Illinois Supreme Court also issued a ruling regarding the SAFE-T Act, on Dec. 31, putting the cash-bail provision on hold. This action means that cash bail is still the rule in Illinois.

Also in his ruling, Cunnington said that the state should have put the question on the ballot, instead of trying to pass the law on its own, according to WTTW.