Some state lawmakers say public safety issues can be attributed to a lack of support for police and bills which they say make their jobs more difficult.
Republican state Rep. Dennis Tipsword from Metamora held a news conference with other Illinois lawmakers to announce initiatives to address public safety.
Tipsword criticized Illinois laws such as the SAFE-T ACT and the Trust Act. As the chief deputy of the Woodford County Sheriff's Department, he said these laws make authorities’ jobs more difficult.
“Why do we continue to enact legislation that always sides with criminals rather than the people who are trying to protect us?” Tipsword said. “There is no bigger priority for me and my job than public safety and holding people who commit crimes accountable.”
The SAFE-T Act passed in 2021, eliminating cash bail and allowing judges to choose whether an offender should be detained based on certain felonies such as murder, aggravated assault and sexual assault.
One proposed amendment would extend the list of felonies that are detainable by allowing a judge to detain an offender if their alleged crime demonstrates a willingness to offend again and jeopardize public safety. Tipsword said it would give more judge’s discretion to detain an offender.
Tipsword said this felony expansion could also include upgrading the penalty of evading police as a felony rather than class A misdemeanor.
“We have also seen a dramatic rise in the number of criminals who blatantly choose to flee and elude police,” Tipsword said. “Currently, the penalty for fleeing and eluding a police officer is a Class A misdemeanor. These actions put officers lives at risk and also risk the lives of the motoring public without question. These penalties should be upgraded to felony charges.”
Immigration and the Trust Act
Another amendment would give authorities the ability to detain an offender if they violate any pre-trial rules such as not showing up for court.
Tipsword also criticized the Trust Act. The bill passed in 2017 to prohibit state authorities to work with federal authorities such as ICE when it comes to detaining immigrants. It was originally pushed by the Chicago Police Department to help immigrants report crimes without fear of detainment.
Tipsword argued the inability to communicate with ICE makes it difficult to transfer immigrants who committed a crime to federal authorities.
As part of this new initiative, Tipsword also pushed a bill to enforce a 20-day window to transfer inmates with mental illness and developmental disorders from county jails to a mental health facility. It would be the responsibility of the Department of Human Services. If the department doesn’t comply with the mandates, they could face fines from the county sheriff's office.
Tipsword said the average wait time to transfer an inmate is 87 days but said it is possible to be over 100.
“This is far too long,” Tipsword said. “Oftentimes, they are housed in solitary-type confinement because they are not fit to spend time in general population, thus moving them further and further from fitness and even doing long term or permanent damage to their mental health. If we can't solve the mental health component, we should expect recidivism.”
Tipsword said the bill is bipartisan. Democrat State Rep. Sharon Chung of Bloomington is a co-sponsor.
