DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - Law enforcement, the State's Attorney and other judicial stakeholders are still navigating the state's elimination of cash bail.
Under the no cash bail law, the majority of those charged with crimes will be released from custody before going to trial without needing to post bail. Under the original provisions of the bill, as passed by the General Assembly, the state would allow judges to determine whether individuals accused of a specific set of felonies and violent misdemeanors pose a risk to another individual or the community. Judges will also be asked to determine whether the defendant poses a flight risk if released. Other low-level crimes people will be issued a notice to appear.
Chief Shane Brandel, Decatur Police Department, said for a while his department has been issuing notices to appear for a lot of low-level violent felonies and crimes.
"In some respect, we have been practicing this for some time. What is different though is that it is mandated on certain charges."
Chief Brandel explained the notices to appear are a piece of paper, with a court date and conditions of release. The department plans to incorporate the forms into its digital citation platform. However, that will need to be worked out with the State's Attorney and Circuit Clerk's Office.
"I have a feeling we will be using that moving forward, but, that is just one of those 'learn as we go and see what our system can do.'"
The SAFE-T Act was met with pushback. Opponents of the SAFE-T Act claim the legislation was introduced and passed in the "darkness of night" during the final day of the lame-duck session in January of 2021.
The law was originally supposed to take effect on Jan. 1. It was put on hold as the Supreme Court heard an appeal filed by Attorney General Kwame Raoul's office after an earlier ruling from a Kankakee County judge, who deemed the pre-trial release provisions in the SAFE-T Act were unconstitutional, NBC Chicago reported.
While the Decatur Police Department has been issuing notices to appear for certain crimes, Chief Brandel said he felt the new law didn't do enough to address repeat and violent offenders. The example he used retail theft.
Sponsors and advocates said this change could help 50 to 100 prisoners receive a constitutional sentencing hearing.
"A lot of theft offenders are repeat offenders and even though a lot of times we already issued an N.T.A. (notice to appear), we have the ability or had the ability to take them to jail, and then they can be held for bond," he explained. "Now they are simply going to be given an N.T.A. and released. I'm concerned that we arrest someone for burglary, they get a notice to appear and then 4 hours later they commit another burglary."
Macon County State's Attorney Scott Rueter argued the first Pretrial Release motions yesterday in a Macon County Courtroom. After the hearing, WAND News had a chance to ask Rueter questions about the process of the SAFE-T Act. He, like Chief Brandel, agreed retail theft is one of the biggest problems he sees in the law.
"The serious cases, where people need to be kept in jail, the judge will agree, too. Those cases, where we are not allowed, those will drag on forever because we are not going to be able to hold them in court long enough."
Since Illinois is the first state to eliminate cash bail, the predictions for the state's judicial system are still unclear. Chief Brandel hopes the Illinois General Assembly will take a look at the flaws in the law and add additional provisions.
"We are going to do our job still and do what is necessary to protect our community."
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