Sangamon County, Illinois Sheriff Jack Campbell addressed about eighty gun owners at a Guns Save Life meeting in Springfield Monday evening. He talked about the Land of Lincoln’s upcoming effective date of the so-called SAFE-T Act, otherwise known as no cash bail. On January 1st, the state will do away with cash bail for nearly all crimes, including second-degree murder, kidnapping, armed robbery, and more.
It’s going to be messy.
Sheriff Campbell had nothing good to say about the new law or the people who passed it. He began his presentation by telling folks that the new law would result in a hundred or more inmates being released on New Year’s Day, almost all of whom were charged with serious drug or violent crimes.
Moreover, he noted that everyday people have good reason to be worried. And every county in the state — 102 — is in the same boat.
“You gotta protect yourself,” the Sheriff said. Campbell reminded folks that a firearm was the most effective tool for self-defense. Safety can be in your hand in seconds when help is minutes away.
At the same time, he advised — in the strongest possible terms — to put the gun away or holster it before the deputies roll up on the scene. “Do what you have to do to protect your family,” he said.
What is this new law? Many call it “The Purge” law on social media because bad guys will have a get-out-of-jail-free card. Arrests for theft, burglary, drug charges, whatever…all will result in the immediate release of the suspects, no matter how much property or merchandise was stolen or how many drugs were found.
“You could have ten kilos of heroin, and we would have to release you,” he said.
The New York Post had a good story about the new law’s pending implementation . . .
In “The Purge” movie series, one night a year is set aside for Americans to commit any crime they want, including murder, without repercussions. It is an opportunity to both let off steam and “cull the herd” unjustly, as some can afford to defend their homes and families against such a rampage … while others cannot.
The horror franchise is fictional, of course, as no elected official in their right mind would ever enact such a law. At least, that’s what I believed.
The unbelievable will soon happen in my home state of Illinois. On Jan. 1, 2023, at midnight, a very real version of “The Purge” will be enacted via the 2021 SAFE-T Act law. The Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today Act will completely eliminate cash bail for the majority of defendants charged with criminal acts. Judges will decide whether or not to release defendants on a case by case basis, based on if they feel a person poses a threat to the community or is a flight risk. Seeing as many Illinois judges rule like progressive activists, it’s likely they will send many criminals back into communities without hesitation.Â
We’re not talking about nonviolent crimes like, say, jumping a railway turnstile or even stealing food from the grocery store. This will be no bail or automatic detainment for second-degree murder. Kidnapping. Armed robbery. Drug-induced homicide. Aggravated DUI.
Hardened criminals, charged with everything from threatening a public official to armed burglary to arson, will be emboldened and empowered.
Billionaire Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed the new law into effect in February under the guise of “Criminal Justice Reform.”
To make matters worse, offenders released on electronic monitoring devices must violate their parole for 48 hours before it will be considered a crime. In the state’s largest county — Cook County, which encompasses Chicago — at any given time, more than 3,000 people wear ankle monitors. This includes about 100 who have been charged with murder.
Chicago’s ankle-monitor program is the largest in the nation and is billed as an alternative to incarceration. More than 75% of those being electronically monitored face violent crime charges. The new law gives all of these criminals a 48-hour pass and means they will have the legal freedom to perhaps murder the witnesses of their crime, and the police cannot respond to their ankle monitor alert for 48 hours. I can hear those “Purge” sirens wailing already.
Sheriff Campbell isn’t expecting folks to show up for court dates on the streets, either. Then again, under the new law, police can’t get an arrest warrant for missing the first court date. The court will send a letter setting a new court date and asking “pretty please” for the defendant to appear. Again.
This all began in 2017. That’s when the Illinois General Assembly passed an “Affordable Bail” law which dramatically lowered pre-trial bail amounts. Gone are the days of serious bail amounts for serious crimes.
Today, those arrested for most crimes are released on little or no bail. Yes, sometimes they are sentenced to home confinement, but few have to post more than a few hundred bucks to gain their freedom until their court date.
That program has proven itself an unmitigated failure.
In Chicago this year, police have identified 43 bad guys on “affordable bail” for felony crimes who have shot (or set afire) 80 innocent victims. Nineteen of those victims have died. Across the state, those released on affordable bail have gone on to commit tens of thousands of new crimes, up to and including murder, while on pre-trial release.
In a state where anti-gun legislators love to promote further gun control by tugging at the heartstrings with comments like, “If it saves just one life,” we all see a conspicuous lack of action and remedying this bad “affordable bail” legislation.
But instead of fixing it, the General Assembly doubled on stupid by eliminating cash bail for all arrestees unless they pose a threat to a specific individual.
So, for example, if a couple has a domestic and one slaps the other, the aggressor stays in jail until trial. If the domestic violence escalates and the aggressor kills his or her spouse, then he (or she) is no longer a threat to a specific (living) person and, therefore, must be released without bail.
This is what passes for logic in Illinois.