SE Illinois News

State Rep. Patrick Windhorst (R-Metropolis) feared the worst when Democrats in Springfield passed the SAFE-T Act.

“In January of 2021, Illinois House and Senate Democrats dropped a sweeping amendment on legislators in the middle of the night during a lame-duck session of the General Assembly over the objections of Republicans and police advocates like the Illinois Sheriffs' Association and the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police and tens of thousands of Illinois who filed witness slips against the reckless and poorly drafted criminal justice reform package,” Windhorst said at a Feb. 9 news conference. “I was one of only two Republican legislators who Democrats allowed to ask questions of the SAFE-T Act sponsor before they shut off debate on the bill.”

Republicans argue since Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed off on the measure that eliminates cash bail, changes use-of-force guidelines and triggered a new police certification system while expanding detainee rights, crime has soared across the state, with retail theft, carjacking and murders in Chicago all showing dramatic increases. 

Windhorst is hoping that’s where HB 4499 will come in to slow the trend by completely repealing SAFE-T. 

“People of our state deserve safety and the knowledge that criminals will be held accountable for their actions,” he said. “Perhaps now with the grand jury unable to indict someone for murder whose actions led to a shooting death and citing the SAFE-T Act as a reasoning, maybe our friends on the other side of the aisle will heed our call. For the safety of all Illinoisans, the so-called SAFE-T Act must be repealed.”