SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – On the third anniversary of Illinois’ cashless bail law, some central Illinois legislators are calling for major changes, or for it to be repealed.
The SAFE-T Act was implemented on Sept. 18th, 2023. The aim of the bill was to have a judge determine the risk of an individual when considering whether they should be detained in a jail, instead of cash considerations.
In a statement issued Friday, State Rep. Travis Weaver (R-Peoria) says the elimination of cash bail has made less safe “our streets, our communities, our loved ones.” Weaver called for a full repeal of the law, arguing that “dangerous criminals” are being let out on the streets to commit “more heinous crimes” as they await trial.
State Rep. Dennis Tipsword (R-Metamora) says the Act was misguided in its attempt to reform cash bail in Illinois. He argues the better system would be to let the Office of Pretrial Services determine a range of bail for an individual based on their income level.
But Tipsword says there was no desire for that.
“Instead, we just wiped away cash bail and all of these other ripple effects that came with the SAFE-T Act, and it has just completely missed the mark,” Tipsword said.
Tipsword says another problem with the Act is who is eligible to be detained. He says most Class 4 felonies in the state would not be eligible for detention. Tipsword says needing to expand the list of those offenses was an issue he saw during development of the Act.
What he views as a bigger problem comes from his other job, Chief Deputy of the Woodford County Sheriff’s Office.
The sheriff’s office has nabbed numerous alleged child sex predators this year through its Proactive task force. The team has a deputy portraying a minor child, and conducts stings that target predators attempting to engage in sexual acts with minors.
Tipsword says those arrested through the stings are not eligible for being detained, because the deputy portraying the minor is not an actual minor.
“A true predator who leaves their home, gets in their vehicle and drives, in some of our cases, halfway across this state, to come meet us, thinking their meeting a child for a sex act, cannot be held,” Tipsword said. “That is absolutely ridiculous.”
Tipsword says he would like to see the Act be repealed and go back to developing reforms for cash bail. He says a lot of the problems with the SAFE-T Act could have been avoided with that plan.
Tipsword only has a few months left in the State Capitol, electing to run for Woodford County Sheriff in November. Tipsword says he will continue to advocate for changes in the few remaining months as a state representative, which includes collaborating with law enforcement and prosecutors on solutions.
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