Kankakee Times

The Safe-T Act has been declared unconstitutional after a judge said the no cash bail portion of the law violates the state’s basic legal principles. 

The ruling was the result of 58 state’s attorneys, led by Kankakee County State’s Attorney Jim Rowe, filing suit to overturn the Act. 

The provisions in the sweeping criminal justice reform bill that had the most people worried about alleged criminals roaming free were overruled. Kankakee County Chief Judge Thomas W. Cunnington, of the 21st Judicial Circuit Court of Illinois, was responsible for the ruling. 

“The administration of the justice system is an inherent power of the courts upon which the legislature may not infringe and the setting of bail falls within that administrative power, the appropriateness of bail rests with the authority of the court and may not be determined by legislative fiat,” Cunnington wrote in his decision. 

“Therefore, the court finds that Public Acts 101- 652 and 102-1104 as they relate only to the pretrial release provisions do violate this separation of powers principle underlying our system of governance by depriving the courts of their inherent authority to administer and control their courtrooms and to set bail.”

Criminal law professor Richard Kling said the ruling was a forgone conclusion. 

“The arguments raised all had merit, they weren’t frivolous,” Kling said, according to the Chicago Sun Times. 


The Safe-T Act will still take effect on Jan. 1 in the 37 counties not included in the lawsuit. 

In those counties, thousands of inmates who are currently being held in jails while they await trial on serious crimes would be released. But after the judge’s ruling, the 58 counties involved in the lawsuit will not be subject to those provisions of the Safe-T Act. The Act underwent changes after a campaign communications blitz revealed several glaring errors in the law. No Republicans voted for the bill or the subsequent changes. 

When the Safe-T Act is implemented in the surviving counties, those charged with the most heinous crimes—such as robbery, kidnapping, arson, second-degree murder, intimidation, aggravated battery, aggravated DUI, aggravated flight, drug-related homicide, and threatening a public official—will be freed.

Of the state's 102 state attorney’s, 58 ultimately were plaintiffs in the lawsuit to stop the legislation from taking effect in its current form and 100 have noted they are in favor of amending or repealing the law altogether.