As a former prosecutor in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, Illinois State Senator John Curran (R-Lemont) is voicing his opposition to a new proposal, billed as “Criminal Justice Reform”, due to grave concerns over the detrimental effects the proposal would have on community safety and the law enforcement profession.
The proposal is contained in Senate Amendment #2 to House Bill 163, which is scheduled to be heard in the Illinois Senate in the upcoming lame-duck session (January 8-13, 2021). The legislation does the following:
- Prohibits Pre-Trial Detention when an offender poses a danger to the Community At-Large.
- Will significantly limit offenders being detained, which will pose a significant risk to victims, witnesses to crime and the community at-large.
- Impedes any law enforcement investigation, which will lead to less crimes being solved and no accountability for criminal perpetrators.
- Severely limits accountability for accomplices to murder by amending the Felony Murder Rule.
- Removes all due process protections for Police Officers, which will end the Policing Profession as we know it and depend on it.
“This Bill imparts that the Police are the enemy of the People of this State. This is neither true, nor a philosophy that I will support. While we must ensure that Law Enforcement Officials are held accountable, this legislation goes well beyond reform and seeks to destroy the Law Enforcement Profession,” said Curran. “Quite simply, this legislation, if adopted, is just as bad as ‘Defunding the Police’ and will make our communities less safe and make us all more vulnerable to criminal acts.”
