ILLINOIS (WAND)- Illinois' Republican Attorney General candidate, Tom Devore, is calling on  Kwame Raoul to take action to change portions of the Safe-T Act.

"The attempted categorization of additional non-bailable crimes, above and beyond what is enumerated in the constitution- violates our constitution," Devore said in a press conference Wednesday.

Devore said the Pre-Trial Fairness Act (PFA), which takes effect January 1st, violates the Illinois constitution. He is vowing to stop it if elected in November. 

Devore argued, right now, there are just a small handful of crimes in Illinois that allow a judge to deny bail to a suspect. But that list is set to grow much larger under the PFA, which is a portion of the Safe-T Act set to go into effect January 1st.

The law gets rid of cash bail, but lists specific crimes and circumstances where a judge can hold a suspect behind bars until their trial. Devore said being denied the possibility of release for additional crimes is a violation of the state constitution.

"The court that we have is set up to administer justice- they get to decide how that justice is administered. Bail is one of the primary components of which they have inherit authority and constitutional authority. The legislature cannot impede that, they can't get in the middle of that," Devore explained.

The Kankakee State's Attorney and filed a lawsuit against the state asking for the court to stop the PFA from going into effect. McHenry and Will County State's Attorneys have also filed legal action, in an effort to stop the law.

But there is another concern from state's attorneys who want to see the law change. A representative of the Illinois State's Attorneys Association told WAND News they are meeting with lawmakers on a trailer bill to clarify language in the PFA.

The association hopes to see a bill passed in the Illinois Legislature's fall veto session that would ensure a judge is able to deny a suspect release if they are a danger to the public. The governor, and some legal experts, argue that protection is already in place. But state's attorneys, like Dan Wright of Sangamon County, told WAND News the current law will only allow them to request a suspect be held- until trial- if they are charged with specific types of felonies or are a flight risk.

WAND New will continue following this developing story. 

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