Illinois Governor Pritzker (front center) signs HB 3653. (Office of the Governor)
Illinois Governor Pritzker signed into law HB3653, a criminal justice policy and police reform bill, which includes a bill that would make Illinois the first state in the U.S. to eliminate cash bail, starting in 2023, which means that future offenders will not be required to post trial until they are sentenced in court. In addition, the law also provides that from 2025, all police and law enforcement officers need to carry a body camera.
The 756-page bill also includes provisions to create more comprehensive tracking of police and law enforcement misconduct, and to revoke the licenses of law enforcement officers who admit to misconduct.
The Illinois Legislative Black Caucus (ILLC) introduced the original draft of HB163 and later amended it in part, including eliminating controversial provisions such as “the ability to bring a civil action against a police officer accused of civil rights violations” and “The bill, HB3653, passed the state Senate at 5 a.m. on Jan. 13 and was quickly passed in less than an hour after being sent to the House of Representatives.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, as many as 26 states, including Illinois, have enacted more than 100 new laws to reform law enforcement policies since May of last year, but Illinois is the only state in the nation that has proposed and will implement “California passed a similar law in 2018, but voters ultimately blocked the statute from taking effect.
The provisions of HB 3653 would give judges greater discretion to decide whether an offender charged by the police can be released on “bail” based solely on whether his or her release would pose a danger to the individual or the community.
Police officers, including the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police and the Illinois Sheriffs’ Association, strongly opposed the bill, arguing that “eliminating bail would make communities less safe and make it easier for people to be released on bail. The officers argued that “eliminating bail would make communities less safe and make it easier for people to re-offend while awaiting trial.
The Illinois Law Enforcement Coalition issued a statement calling the new bill a “blatant punishment” of the police and other law enforcement professions that would ultimately cause the greatest harm to most law-abiding citizens.
Many people have also expressed their concerns about the new law, especially residents of Chinatown who have been in a state of insecurity in recent months and are worried about Illinois becoming a haven for crime, “Many of the robberies and carjackings are repeat offenders. How can our safety be guaranteed?”
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