Metro East Sun

Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Haine and Sheriff John Lakin have filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the controversial SAFE-T Act. 

Lakin is the latest Democrat to file a lawsuit against the Pritzker administration over the constitutionality of the SAFE-T Act. Haine is a Republican. 

“The bipartisan opposition to the SAFE-T Act is not about politics," Lakin said in a press release. "It is about public safety. This lawsuit gives our court system an opportunity to properly vet this law where our political branches have failed, and protect the citizens of Madison County from the disaster that is the SAFE-T Act as it is currently written.” 

Haine and Lakin are two of a growing list of state officials who have filed lawsuits over the bill set to take effect Jan. 1. 

“The near-universal consensus of law enforcement officials across the state is that this law is seriously flawed," Haine said in a press release. "The changes we sought have not occurred. We have heard talk of changes but no specifics from the Governor. But we only have three months to go before implementation. 

The lawsuit according to Haine is a final opportunity to overturn the SAFE-T Act.

“We are being asked to prepare for a law that upends our entire justice system and governs our ability to bring criminals to justice but are given no clarity about what the rules will be on January 1, Haine said. "We regret it has come to this, but this lawsuit will give us a final chance to prevent the SAFE-T Act from going into effect as currently written.” 

Lawsuits have also been filed by state's attorneys from Jo Daviess, Ogle, McHenry, Brown, DuPage, Kankakee, Will, Knox, Vermillion, Greene, Scott, Sangamon, Jersey, Moultrie, Douglas, and Effingham counties. They argue the "pretrial fairness" sections of the law are unconstitutional, Beloit Daily News reported.

Nearly all of the state lawyers, 100 of the 102, agreed that the statute should be changed or repealed, according to Madison-St. Clair Record. The only two extreme outliers are Eric Rinehart from Lake County and Kim Foxx from Cook County. Both received funding for their campaigns from a determined effort to appoint “activist" prosecutors who are more likely to advocate for the release of those suspected of crimes.

When the SAFE-T Act goes into effect on the first day of 2023, thousands of criminals who are now being held in state prisons while they await trial for serious crimes will be freed. Those charged with the most heinous crimes, such as robbery, abduction, arson, second-degree murder, intimidation, aggravated battery, aggravated DUI, aggravated flight, drug-related homicide, and threatening a public official, will be set free if the SAFE-T Act is implemented as planned, Will County Gazette reported.