BENTON – State Rep. Dave Severin (R-Benton) issued the following statement after the Illinois Supreme Court ruled in favor of ending cash bail after more than half of Illinois’ State’s Attorneys sued to block the controversial provision of the SAFE-T Act.
“Illinoisans will be living in an even more dangerous state after the activist progressive leftist decision issued by the Illinois Supreme Court ending cash bail today. Other states have tried this experiment before and have seen disastrous impacts on public safety. Illinois’ law enforcement officers have been the target of weak-on-crime policies passed by out-of-touch Democrat politicians. I have stood firmly against the excessive abuse of our police officers that Democrats have eagerly enshrined into our laws. I strongly opposed the SAFE-T Act and was appalled that Democrat politicians that control every level of power in Illinois government cast aside their concerns and moved full-steam ahead on ending cash bail and allowing unlimited anonymous complaints against cops.
“I stand with our police, and I stand with the everyday law-abiding citizen that is horrified by the leftist-progressive movement that is infecting our system of criminal justice with anti-police, pro-criminal policies. I fear that our citizens will be less safe, that repeat offenders will feel emboldened to commit more crimes, and ultimately our police will be further demoralized because they will see the criminals they arrest allowed to walk out the doors of the jail with little to no consequences and little incentive to return for their court dates. We will likely see our citizens leaving for other states that value public safety and the hard work and sacrifice of our police officers. Illinois is moving in the absolute wrong direction and today’s decision will only make our crime problem worse.”
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