Dupage Policy Journal

An Elmhurst City Council member running as a Democrat for Illinois State Representative says so-called "SAFE-T Act" has served to "strengthen our criminal justice system," arguing the elimination of cash bail hasn't made DuPage County less safe.

"We haven’t seen more crime, and we haven’t seen an increase in failures to appear in court," Deuter told Patch.com. 

Deuter also criticized SAFE-T Act opponents for pointing to crime spikes in Chicago and Cook County after its State's Attorney, Kim Foxx, effectively eliminated cash bail there after she was elected in 2016. She suggested their arguments weren't factual.

"Decisions (about the SAFE-T Act) can now be based on facts, not fear and politics," Deuter said.

Deuter is running for an open seat in Illinois's 45th District against Republican Dennis Reboletti, the current Addison Township Supervisor and a former member of the state house. Incumbent Democrat Jennifer Ladisch-Douglass opted not to run for re-election.

While on the City Council in 2020, Deuter encouraged city residents to "do better" for Black Lives Matter, which called Elmhurst racist and criticized the city for having too many white employees.

"I think we should embrace these discussions (with Black Lives Matter), listen and work diligently to identify areas of improvement," she said.

After the George Floyd riots in the summer of 2020, Black Lives Matter activists attended an Elmhurst City Council meeting to air grievances, including claims that their "Black Lives Matter" and "We Welcome Refugees" signs were stolen out of their yards by "pro-Trump...neighborhood children."

Shoplifting up 80 percent in Oak Brook

A May DuPage Policy Journal analysis of shoplifting arrests at Oak Brook Center found that shoplifting arrests were up 80 percent at the county's largest shopping mall, mostly thanks to illegal alien criminals traveling in from Cook County to steal.

"There have been 112 shoplifting arrests in Oak Brook through April 30 this year, an 80 percent increase over 2023, when there were 62 over the same period," the report said.

In Illinois, all illegal aliens arrested for shoplifting are required to be released back into the public; police are barred from turning them over to federal authorities for deportation, per a state law signed by Democrat Governor J.B. Pritzker in August 2021.

Major crimes in the city of Chicago are up 41 percent since 2019, according to an analysis of Chicago Police arrest data by Wirepoints.com.

Car thefts, which are now rarely prosecuted under the SAFE-T Act, have spiked 154 percent over that time period. Theft is up 40 percent and murder up 17 percent.

The 45th Illinois House District includes majorities of Elmhurst, Hinsdale, Clarendon Hills, Westmont and Oakbrook Terrace, plus portions of northwest Old Town in Western Springs, Oak Brook west of Route 83, northeast Downers Grove and western Willowbrook.