Metro East Sun

House candidate Kevin Schmidt is worried about the SAFE-T Act provision that will eliminate cash bail.

“I understand there are extenuating economic circumstances for many people and bail often unfairly hurts low-income people," Schmidt said. "I am all for ways to reform the application of cash bail, but simply eliminating it is just a bad idea. There are people who are dangerous and who will commit crimes if we let them back on the streets. Bail for these individuals should be set high enough to prevent them from endangering lives.”

Schmidt is the Republican candidate running to represent the 114th House District which includes East St. Louis, Shiloh and Freeburg. He faces incumbent Rep. LaToya Greenwood (D) in the November general election.

"What is not fair is eliminating cash bail and letting criminals back on the street to commit more crimes," Schmidt said. "There are valid reasons to set bail extraordinarily high in certain instances. Our criminal justice system should be about protecting our communities and keeping people safe. Releasing violent offenders with no bail is reckless and puts our communities at risk."

Supporters of the Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today (SAFE-T) Act, including the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus, point to the legislation as a step toward making the justice system more equitable for minorities. Republicans have called the SAFE-T Act a “de facto defund the police bill" because of the additional regulations it places on police officers. The SAFE-T will eliminate cash bail in Illinois, effective Jan. 1 2023, which critics claim will lead to more criminals on the streets.

Multiple state's attorneys expressed concern over the legislation at a media briefing in April, according to the Center Square. State Sen. Dale Fowler (R-Harrisburg) said that some of the provisions regarding law enforcement are driving people away from the field. “It's been very frustrating to see our law enforcement officers retire early, some of our sheriffs retire early, and our students not wanting to go into the law enforcement field,” Fowler said. 

“This is reality,” one state’s attorney said. “With this new law, our hands will be tied. What sane citizen in this state of Illinois would want the state’s attorney’s hands tied, the police hands tied, and give all the perks going to violent offenders. That’s what this law does.” 

Gov. J.B. Pritzker recently defended the elimination of cash bail, according to The Center Square. "We do not want someone in jail because they were arrested for a low-level crime like shoplifting to be sitting in jail for months or maybe even years," Pritzker said. "At the same time, someone who is a wealthy drug dealer, perhaps accused of murder and arrested, can show up with a suitcase full of money and get out of jail."