House and Senate members of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus detailed their proposal for criminal justice reforms as the lame duck legislative sessions began Friday, explaining that their proposal has been carefully considered and would make significant strides to undoing some of the systemic racism built into the current system.
The proposed changes are included in an over 600-page amendment to HB163 (Stuart) and would make significant changes to aspects of the justice system including pre-trial detention. Additionally, HB841 (Willis) has a proposed amendment that would allow the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board to conduct a process to de-certify police officers who exhibit a pattern of unsafe behavior, not just those who are convicted of felonies.
“The time is now to act. We want to make sure that we pick up this moment in time and leverage that. We are challenging and attempting to destroy systemic racism through all of our system of state government … and in our criminal justice system and policing,” said Sen. Elgie Sims (D-Chicago)
HB163, if amended, would eliminate the pre-trial cash bail system in Illinois in favor of allowing judges more power to detain the accused if they are deemed a public threat through a hearing system. Sen. Robert Peters (D-Chicago) said a prime example of the “two-tier” justice system is the case of Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old shooter accused to killing two men and injuring another during protests in Kenosha, WI this past summer.
“He's 17 years old and he was in a bar in Wisconsin hanging out with a bunch of people who were celebrating him for his terrible actions. … We're not only going to just end cash bond, but we're going to create a process that says, ‘Okay, we want to talk about your public threat to a person. Let's focus on that focus and not simply putting someone in there who can't afford to pay,” Peters said.
Law enforcement groups largely oppose the proposed changes. The Illinois Fraternal Order of Police opposes measures that would eliminate qualified immunity for police officers, require all police departments to use body cameras, and prohibit departments from participating in U.S. military surplus programs, among others.
During Saturday’s Senate Executive Committee Meeting, Judge Robbin Stuckert provided testimony on behalf of the Illinois Supreme Court’s Commission on Pretrial Practices. She explained the bill largely reflected the recommendations of the commission, but also said that the group never came to a clear consensus on the complete elimination of cash bail and opposed the immediate implementation date proposed by the co-sponsors.
In response to this criticism, Sims said Sunday that further drafts of the legislation are expected, possibly replacing the immediate effective date and expanding the bill to deal with issues such as mandatory minimum sentencing and reclassifying certain drug possession crimes, all issues discussed in Saturday’s House Judiciary Criminal Committee hearing.
In response to criticisms about the cost of implementing pre-trial reforms, Sims and others Sunday said that the long-term costs of the current systems exceed the costs of temporary implementation.
-Allison Richard
