Rockford Sun

Rep. Andrew Chesney (R-Freeport) called out his Democraict colleagues on April 5  for passing the Illinois Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today (SAFE-T) Act, linking it to rising crime rates.

“I stood in support of the men and women of law enforcement and rebuked radical Democrats for their political amnesia as they scramble to introduce legislation in response to rising crime rates made worse by the Safe-T Act they passed last year, which I refer to as the 'punish the police'  law,” Chesney posted on Facebook. He linked to his speech on the House floor.

Among other measures, the SAFE-T Act creates a new process to decertify abusive cops; requires body cameras for all Illinois police officers; and limits when police can use deadly force. The law also eliminates the cash bail system.

"You did this all in the name of equity. Ladies and gentlemen, letting people go in our communities is not equity," Chesney said from the House floor. "This criminal behavior must be prosecuted and the sponsor has said on multiple occasions that 'Republicans want to lock people up.' You’re right. If you’re a wife-beater, a murderer, a sex offender, I wanna lock you up for a very long time."

House Republicans have been calling for a repeal of the SAFE-T Act since it passed. 

Some changes to the law have been made. In January 2022, the House accepted an amendment  changing the effective date of the police decertification system and body camera footage labeling, among other things. The Journal Courier wrote the bill clarified that labeling body camera footage was not the same as tampering with evidence, and changed the deadline for the police decertification system to July 1, 2022. Gov. Pritzker signed these changes into law.

The Legislative Black Caucus released a statement that said the SAFE-T Act made the justice system fairer for minorities. 

The caucus also said complaints from Republicans were premature.

“Many provisions of the SAFE-T Act have not even gone into effect yet," the Caucus said.