SE Illinois News

Rep. Patrick Windhorst (R-Harrisburg), who has led the Truth in Public Safety working group, has unveiled a package of public safety bills, aiming to reverse sections of the SAFE-T Act, according to a post on Windhorst's Facebook page.

The Truth in Public Safety working group shared information about the bills at a press conference on April 27, as well as meeting with "various stakeholders involved with the criminal justice system," according to a release on Windhorst's website.

“The Truth in Public Safety Working group has come up with a package of more than 20 bills through our work. We have developed legislation centering around protecting crime victims, restoring cash bail with reforms, and recruiting and retaining police officers,” he wrote in the post.

Windhorst has led the Truth in Public Safety working group to form policy since January "to formulate a package of public safety legislation," that includes several topics – from law enforcement recruitment and retention to victim protection. Another element in the package is what the group calls “The Real Pre-Trial Fairness Act,” according to the post.

The Real Pre-Trial Fairness Act, House Bill 4052, sponsored by Reps. Dan Ugaste (R-St. Charles), Amy Grant (R-Wheaton), and Windhorst. The measure would reinstate cash bail and restore certain provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963. The bill would also create new pretrial procedures, creates a new reference for terms like "pretrial release," "denial of pretrial release," "conditions of pretrial release," or "violations of the conditions of pretrial release," according to the bill's text. The terms "shall be construed to mean 'bail,' 'denial of bail,' 'conditions of bail,' or 'forfeiture of bail' respectively," the text read. 

The bill also points to specific offenses where the domestic violence surveillance program is applicable. If the bill is passed it would be effective June 1, 2025, House data read.