Democratic lawmakers came together during the final legislative session of the year to approve changes aimed at clarifying their controversial criminal justice overhaul.
State Reps. Justin Slaughter, from left, Jehan Gordon-Booth, Natalie Manley, Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz and Eva-Dina Delgado celebrate after the chamber passed changes to the controversial criminal justice law known as the SAFE-T Act at the Illinois Capitol building on Dec. 1, 2022, in Springfield
State Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth speaks with members of the House before the chamber passed changes to the controversial criminal justice law known as the SAFE-T Act at the Illinois Capitol building on Dec. 1, 2022, in Springfield. Responding to campaign attacks as they sought second terms, both Pritzker and Democratic Attorney General Kwame Raoul repeatedly said the law needed clarification, while never wavering in defense of the concept of eliminating cash bail.
Outgoing House Republican Leader Jim Durkin of Western Springs, another former prosecutor, agreed that the GOP had an impact on the Democrats’ decision to make changes. But he said that even with the clarification, he still believes the SAFE-T Act undermines the duties of law enforcement.“I do believe our voices and the analysis that we did, and we articulated them, made the Democrats think that, ‘What are we doing?’” Durkin said.
State Sen. Robert Peters, center, watches as votes are tallied shortly before the Senate approved changes to the controversial criminal justice law known as the SAFE-T Act at the Illinois Capitol building on Dec. 1, 2022, in Springfield. “You can tell that we were eye to eye because we were both on this bill. The bill that passed today says Peters-Bennett,” Peters said. “That just shows the fact that we’re working together. And we as a caucus came together to get this done. You look at that roll call, you can see a unified caucus working to change the pretrial justice system.”
Peace between the majority party’s moderate and progressive wings was evident in the vote tallies on the amendment, which was approved with unanimous Democratic support in both chambers. The original legislation passed with a bare minimum 60 votes in the House and with just two votes to spare in the Senate.Advertisement
Before the House voted to pass the changes Thursday night, state Rep. Justin Slaughter, the chief sponsor of the SAFE-T Act, and two other Chicago Democrats went over the section of the law that clarifies the ability of police to make arrests for misdemeanors like trespassing instead of just writing tickets.
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