Kankakee Times

Kankakee County State’s Attorney Jim Rowe recently filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn – on constitutional grounds – the criminal justice reform SAFE-T Act. 

Rowe said the legislation undermines basic constitutional principles set up to ensure the proper functioning of the criminal justice system. 

“This lawsuit should not be necessary,” Rowe said, according to the Country Herald. “I surely believe that freedom should not hinge upon one’s ability to pay a bond, and that the criminal justice system is in dire need of reform, including bail and beyond.  However, regardless of whether you agree with or reject the many reforms of the SAFE-T Act, or even how we may each interpret them, one thing is certain: you cannot amend the Illinois Constitution without a referendum or Constitutional Convention (Illinois Constitution, Article XIV).”

Kankakee Sheriff Mike Downey said he backs Rowe’s efforts. 

“From the day HB3653 was signed into law, law enforcement sounded the alarm about how dangerous this legislation would be to law abiding citizens throughout Illinois,” Downey said in a release. “Unfortunately, that alarm has fallen upon deaf ears in Springfield.  This lawsuit aims to correct these concerns and to simply ensure the process is done in the light of day and in accordance with the Illinois Constitution.”

In a press release, Rowe said that the measure has effectively amended Article 1, Section 9 of the Illinois Constitution without a referendum vote of the people and argued that, "The Legislature does not have that power." The lawsuit, he said, and the Illinois Constitution beg legislators "to do what is right and follow the process: give the people their right to vote,” said Rowe. “It gives this Office no joy to file this lawsuit and I do so with some trepidation, well aware of how it may be responded to by those in powerful positions; just know that we welcome criminal justice reform done properly at the will of the people, and we pray that can still be accomplished.”

He said that the current amendments to the existing bail section of the State Constitution were adopted by referendum vote of the people in 1982.

On Jan, 1, 2023, the no-cash bail provision of the Safe-T Act takes effect. 

Opponents say thousands of detained defendants would be released and free to commit crimes, Will County Gazette reported.