CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Black state lawmakers are pushing for their colleagues to approve major criminal justice reforms this week.
While the Illinois State’s Attorney’s Association said it has grave concerns about the bill moving too quickly, Senator Elgie Simms said the issues the legislation addresses are not new, such as cash bonds, body cameras, and lifting immunity for police officers from civil suits.
"It will fundamentally change the way we do criminal justice in this state," he said. "We can no longer sit idly by as a legislation and not address these challenges, because we have far too many times let these opportunities pass us by."
The Chicago democrat said the proposal is not about demonizing law enforcement and pointed to the small number of arrests during the riots at the Capitol compared to Black Lives Matter protests as a sign of the need for change.
State Senator Robert Peters pointed to Kyle Rittenhouse, who posted $2 million bail while facing homicide charges, as an argument against the cash bond system.
"Just this past week, he's 17-years old, he was in a bar in Wisconsin hanging out with a bunch of people who were celebrating him for his terrible action," Peters said.
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The proposal would also extend Miranda rights to people in custody on probable cause and remove collective bargaining rights that State Representative Carol Ammons said exonerate police officers from nearly all killings without due process.
Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx has thrown her support behind the proposals, but a statewide group of prosecutors object to, among other things, eliminating cash bonds saying it would endanger crime victims.