Before Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the controversial criminal justice bill into law, Madison County board members passed a resolution urging him not to.
House Bill 3653 was signed into law on Feb. 22.
Pritzker called the bill a “substantial step toward dismantling systemic racism by bringing us closer to true safety, true fairness and true justice.”
However, Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Haine argued that the bill makes Illinois streets less safe and proposed a resolution to the Madison County Government Relations Committee. The resolution was approved and presented to the full board at the Madison County Board meeting on Feb. 17.
Committee chairman Chris Guy (R) said he appreciated Haine’s “dedication to preserving public safety in our county.”
During the board meeting, Doc Holliday (D) was the only board member to vote against the resolution, saying the bill increases transparency and accountability by requiring police departments to participate in the FBI’s use-of-force database, prohibiting the chokehold, abolishing cash bail, creating statewide certification and requiring body cameras.
Guy responded that Illinois state law already bans chokeholds.
“Of course we all support that and it’s already in law," said Guy, referring to the chokehold ban.
Guy said he is concerned about the “unfunded mandates” if law enforcement agencies do not adhere to the new requirements and the budgeting burden to maintain expensive servers used to store data and video footage from mandatory body cameras. He added that they would like to see the data stored, "I think law enforcement does as well," but there is no assurance on the funding.
Board member Mike Babcock (R) added, “No cash bail is very difficult on individuals who have been victimized by criminals.”
Board member Mick Madison (R) shared his support for local law enforcement, saying the bill makes their job tougher.
“I stand with our law enforcement community on this issue,” he said. “Their job is tough enough. We don’t need to make it harder on them. We don’t need to easily let people that they’ve arrested right back out on the street, and it’s not good for the law abiding citizens.”
House Bill 3653 originated as House Bill 163 and was filed by Edwardsville Rep. Katie Stuart in December. She previously said the new version of the bill bears no resemblance to the one she originally filed.
House Bill 163, which Stuart sponsored in the House, related to changes to prescription drug monitoring linked to the ongoing opioid epidemic, the representative said in a statement last month. After the bill passed in the House, Chicago Sen. Elgie Sims Jr. changed the nature of the bill with a 600-page amendment.
The amended 764-page bill was passed by the Illinois Senate in the early hours of Jan. 13 during a lame-duck session under the new number House Bill 3653. It was then sent to Pritzker, who signed it into law on Feb. 22 despite bipartisan criticism.
Haine, a Republican, and Madison County Sheriff John Lakin, a Democrat, previously issued a bi-partisan joint statement saying the bill "effectively destroys law enforcement and criminal prosecution as we know it."
They said the bill "significantly" limits when offenders can be detained; prohibits pre-trial detention when an offender poses a general danger, allowing it only when officials can prove danger to a specific person; limits accountability for accomplices to murder by amending the felony murder rule; and removes multiple due process protections for police officers while also exposing them to new civil liability.
Haine and Lakin highlighted the potential impact of the bill, arguing that the bail element will increase risks to victims, witnesses and the wider community
“In the name of reform, it effectively destroys law enforcement and criminal prosecution as we know it,” said Haine and Lakin.
“It will be a disaster for victims and public safety by undermining – in multiple different ways - the ability of law enforcement and prosecutors to keep violent criminals off the streets,” they added.
On Feb. 20, state Senator Jason Plummer called the HB 3653 a “terrible crime-friendly and criminal-empowering ‘reform’ bill.”
“This isn’t a matter of debating some obscure policy or tax rates,” he wrote in a Facebook post. “This is a dangerous bill that will make our communities less safe, our police officers less safe, and our families less safe. This bill is beyond reckless and irresponsible.”
In response to the bill being signed into law, the Illinois Law Enforcement Coalition issued a statement on behalf of Illinois law enforcement leadership and “rank-and-file officers.”
“In signing this bill into law, Governor Pritzker chose to listen to a few strident political voices rather than the 120,000 petition signing citizens who plainly saw the bill for what it is. This new law is a blatant move to punish an entire, honorable profession that will end up hurting law-abiding citizens the most.
“Because we are sworn to protect and serve the public, we sincerely hope that we will not be proven right about this new law, that it won’t cause police officers to leave the profession in droves and handcuff those who remain so they can’t stop crimes against people and property. Please don’t let us measure its dismal failure by the shattered lives it produces.
“We urge all citizens to remember who supported this law, and keep that in mind the next time they look to the police in Illinois for the protection they can no longer provide,” the coalition stated.