The Illinois Freedom Caucus issued a statement criticizing the SAFE-T Act by arguing that all criminal defendants have the right to pretrial release if they have enough money for bail.
On the other hand, Republican State Rep. Adam Niemerg complained that under the new law, too many people would be eligible for pretrial release. He said, “There will be more criminals put back on the street as a result of this law which will put people’s lives at risk. It also will make it even tougher for people to cooperate with police and identify suspects.
They will be less willing to ID criminals out of fear they will be targeted once the suspect is released from custody. The Illinois Supreme Court’s decision to put politics ahead of common sense and the plain language of the Constitution has put lives at risk.”
