Kankakee Times

In a video posted April 6 to Facebook, Sen. Jason Barickman (R-Bloomington) remarked the spring 2002 legislative session was winding down, and outlined what still needed to be done.

“Of course we’re in the final days of the spring legislative session cycle. There’s lots of important issues left to address," Barickman said. "One of the most significant issues is what we’re going to do about the increase in crime that is occurring all around the state. This is something that no matter whether you live in the city of Chicago, the suburbs, central Illinois, or downstate, you're affected by the sharp increase that we’ve seen in crime, I think much of this is a direct result of the dramatic overreach that Gov. Pritzker and the Democrats did.”

Barickman said the SAFE-T Act needed to be repealed.

"Just yesterday, a series of Democrats put forward a litany of proposals, some of them not bad, but none of them addressing again that dramatic overreach and really doing the one thing that is yet to be done - repeal the dangerous Safety Act," Barickman said.

Repealing of the SAFE-T Act is something Republicans have been pushing for since it was passed in February 2021.

Among other measures, the Illinois SAFE-T or Safety, Accountability, Fairness, and Equity-Today Act discards cash bail by 2023. The act also imposes regulations on police officers, including use of body cameras, along with permitting some suspects who are accused of felonies not to get detained before trial. According to Injustice Watch, police unions and law enforcement groups stated that the act poses a huge threat to public safety.

The Legislative Black Caucus said the SAFE-T Act has made the justice system fairer for minorities. The caucus also said complaints from Republicans were premature.

“Many provisions of the SAFE-T Act have not even gone into effect yet," the Caucus said.