Metro East Sun

St. Clair County was granted a stay on enforcement of the SAFE-T Act just before a statewide stay was announced. 

The county's state's attorney and sheriff had requested a temporary restraining order.

“A judge granted the temporary restraining order. A hearing is scheduled for Jan. 9. The Safe-T Act will now not be in effect in St. Clair County, Madison County and many other counties in Illinois starting Sunday,” Deion Broxton, a reporter with KMOV, reported on Twitter. The challenge was brought by St. Clair State’s Attorney James Gormic and St. Clair County Sheriff Rick Watson. 

The Illinois State Supreme ruled on Dec. 31 - the day before the sweeping criminal justice reform was set to take effect - the law’s implementation should be delayed given rulings in lowers courts, according to CBS Chicago.

The law had been ruled unconstitutional earlier in the week by Kankakee County Chief Judge Thomas W. Cunnington, of the 21st Judicial Circuit Court of Illinois. “The administration of the justice system is an inherent power of the courts upon which the legislature may not infringe and the setting of bail falls within that administrative power, the appropriateness of bail rests with the authority of the court and may not be determined by legislative fiat,” Cunnington wrote in his decision.

A group of 65 state’s attorneys banded together to challenge the law in Cunnington’s court. Several others followed suit with mirroring legislation after Cunnington’s ruling. 

“This is a victory for the rule of law, which unfortunately the Illinois General Assembly and the Governor disregarded when passing this ‘solution in search of a problem’ legislation,” McHenry County State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally said, McHenry Times reported. “It is the legislative process, not the criminal justice system, that is broken in Illinois.” 

Kenneally also argued that “Instead of drafting bail reform in collaboration with actual experts, such as judges, prosecutors, police, and defense attorneys who seek justice in courtrooms every day, the General Assembly and the Governor chose to enact the sophomoric ideas of well-financed activists.”