Dupage Policy Journal

Rep. Jim Durkin (R-Burr Ridge) has released a statement on The Illinois Supreme Court decision to halt the no-cash-bail provision of the criminal justice reform SAFE-T Act.

“Last night's decision is a victory for the citizens of Illinois and especially the victims of crime and the men and women in law enforcement,” he said. “We warned about the consequences of the legislation from the beginning. Now the Illinois Democrats — the governor, the president of the Senate, the Speaker of the House — are feeling the consequences of how they formulated and passed this legislation."

Following a class action lawsuit, a Kankakee County judge deemed the Pretrial Fairness Act of the SAFE-T Act unconstitutional. The Supreme Court then stayed it.

The future of the no-cash-bail provision is still up in the air.

"Tomorrow was supposed to be absolute chaos at 26th and California with this new law taking effect, and I think the Illinois Supreme Court realized that in making this rather late decision today to stop that from happening tomorrow," said CBS 2 legal analyst Irv Miller. "So I think they were sitting around today thinking, 'How are we going to remedy this catastrophe?' And I'm going to use the word catastrophe if this went ahead."

Illinois State Attorney General Kwame is pressing forward.

"It is important to note that the order issued today by the court is not a decision on the merits of the constitutionality of the SAFE-T Act, and I appreciate the court’s interest in expediting the appeal," Raoul said. "We look forward to mounting a robust defense of the constitutionality of the law and ensuring that it goes into effect across the state."