Press Release from Mercer County State’s Attorney Grace Simpson:
A lawsuit was filed in the Mercer County Circuit Court, asking that HB 3653 (the SAFE-T Act) be held unconstitutional. The lawsuit is filed on behalf of the People of the State of Illinois by Grace Simpson in her capacity as State’s Attorney; it names Governor JB Pritzker and Attorney General Kwame Raoul as defendants. The lawsuit seeks injunctive relief based upon the Act violating the Illinois Constitution; violating the single-subject law; violating separation of powers; violating victim’s rights; and violating bail bond provisions as set out in the Constitution.
It is of upmost importance as a State’s Attorney’s Office that the Constitution is abided by on all levels. As the Chief Legal Officer in Mercer County, it would be unethical to move forward with the implementation of the SAFE-T, without properly raising those concerns to the Court. I am obligated to inform those that I have sworn to protect that version of House Bill 3653, now Public Act 101–652 set to take effect January 1, 2023 poses a serious threat to public safety, specifically, to victims of and witnesses to violent crimes in our community.
This lawsuit should not be necessary but since HB 3653’s implementation in early 2021, little efforts have been made by the legislature to correct their wrongdoings. It is evident that the criminal justice system, including bail bond provisions are in dire need of reform. However, that reform cannot be at the detriment of the people’s Constitutional rights.
It is undisputed that the only way to amend the Constitution is with a referendum vote of the people or through a Constitutional Convention. Neither of those occurred during the passing of HB 3653. In fact, on January 10, 2021, Senator Sims affixed a 604 page amendment to HB 3653 that in addition to sweeping changes to law enforcement operations, conduct, and use of force also included the bulk of the bail bond modification provisions. At 3:00 a.m. on January 13, 2021, HB 3653 was amended again by Senator Sims, becoming 764 pages in length to what was originally a 7 page bill that involved only discussion of voting rights to those in the Department of Corrections.
On that same day, at 5:00 a.m., having had a little more than an hour to read the Bill, HB 3653 was called for a vote in the Senate by the Democratic super–majority and passed. That same morning, HB 3653 was sent to the House, its chief House sponsor was changed to Rep. Slaughter, and assigned to the Rules Committee. It immediately passed out of the Rules Committee and received exactly the 60 votes needed to pass in the House, again, after less than an hour of debate HB 3653 was sent to Governor Pritzker on February 4, 2021, and he signed it on February 22, 2021.
The radical increase in the number of pages from the originally introduced bill to what is now Public Act 101–652 is only the beginning of the concerns this bill raises. The range of issues covered by this Bill also increased from the narrow issue of voter registration for incarcerated individuals to a wide range of issues, including, but not limited to: creation or modifications of at least seventeen (17) acts, task forces, criminal laws, and boards. This bill is now 764 pages long, divided into 8 substantive articles, 1 general article and amends, adds, or repeals 265 statutes that encroach on the rights of the Courts and its representatives.
In short, the legislature completely disregarded the rights and protections of all its citizens when passing this Bill in the early morning hours of January 2021. This bill being enacted represents the hypocritical nature of our legislature as they violated the regulations the people they represent are asked to follow every day. The impact of this bill if enacted as is will dismantle our law enforcement, affect the integrity of every investigation and prosecution, and most concerning this bill puts all of law enforcement and every member of our community in danger.
Therefore, I have filed a motion for declaratory judgement and injunctive relief in my official capacity as Mercer County State‘s Attorney and on behalf of the People of the State of Illinois. As set forth in the complaint for Declaratory Judgment I am requesting the Court to find that HB 3653, now Public Act 101–652, violates sections of our Constitution and find the law null and void. Additionally, I am seeking a preliminary injunction which would prevent the enforcement of any bail provisions in the Act until the case can be fully litigated and an outcome reached.