Life in the state of Illinois is about to get a lot more dangerous and one mayor is warning that citizens may be forced to act on their own to protect life, limb, and property.
In a Monday interview with Fox News regarding the state’s new Democrat-passed Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today (SAFE-T) Act, set to go into effect in a few months, Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau said it is the “most dangerous law” he has ever seen.
Pekau, who is running for Congress in Illinois’ 6th District and has been extremely vocal in his opposition to the law, said it completely overhauls the state’s existing criminal justice system is a way that will favor criminals and actually cause crime to spike even more than it already has.
“We create potential anarchy because law enforcement can’t do their job, and then people feel that they have to do that job,” he said. “People aren’t trained in the use of force. They’re not trained to de-escalate situations.”
The Blaze noted further:
The SAFE-T Act includes provisions to end cash bail for most offenses and limits how defendants are determined to be flight risks. It also allows offenders placed under electronic monitoring to be in violation for 48 hours before they can be charged.
Proponents of the bill argued that it would create a more equitable criminal justice system in Illinois and combat systemic racism.
“It was passed in the middle of the night, with 40 minutes to read an 800-page bill, which is unacceptable,” Pekau said last month.
“It abolishes cash bail for almost every offense. This includes — but isn’t limited to — kidnapping, armed robbery, second-degree murder, drug-induced homicide, aggravated DUI, threatening a public official, and aggravated fleeing and eluding,” he continued.
The mayor went on to explain that the new law may also reduce trespassing from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class B offense, adding that cops won’t be able to physically remove a trespasser, either.
“Now they can’t arrest, they can only write a ticket,” he said. “So, they get to stay in that business, on your property, at your house, etc.”
He went on to argue that the measure is “just a potpourri of everything” and fails to consider “law enforcement, judges, or all the stakeholders in place.” He also said the law will return criminals to the streets.
The measure was signed last year by Governor J.B. Pritzker, and it will go into effect on January 1, 2023. Pekau added he hopes Illinois residents will vote Pritzker out of office next month, but that doesn’t look likely, based on current polling.
“I don’t think we know what’s coming from this,” Pekau told Fox News. “I think we can project that if criminals are allowed to run free and police officers can’t protect citizens, citizens are going to start protecting themselves and take the law into their own hands.”
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