(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Statewide challenges to the controversial SAFE-T Act are being combined and will be heard in one county.
Prosecutors in 58 of 102 Illinois counties have filed lawsuits challenging the new law, specifically its provision eliminating cash bail.
Now, the Illinois Supreme Court has decided the lawsuits will be consolidated and heard in Kankakee County.
Judge Thomas Cunningham, who oversees the 21st Judicial Circuit in Kankakee and Iroquois counties, will hear the case.
Among the prosecutors who are part of the law’s challenge are those from McHenry, DeKalb, Ogle, Kendall and LaSalle counties.
The Safe-T Act was to take effect Jan. 1. Under a bail-system overhaul, judges would release some types of defendants while they await trial.
Defendants charged with violent offenses could still be detained pending trial.
Critics and supporters of the measure disagree on whether the new law would put public safety at risk. Sponsors of the law say it is meant to keep poor defendants from spending time behind bars because they can’t afford bail.
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