(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Criminal justice legislation that passed a year ago is an anti-cop, anti-safety albatross that some Democrats already want to repeal, according to Illinois House Republicans.
House Minority Leader Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs, said it's a continuing example of how the supermajority party is "either blissfully ignorant or actively trying to undermine our criminal justice system.”
The package that Gov. JB Pritzker signed in early 2021 included the elimination of cash bail in Illinois and wider use of police body cameras. Durkin and other House Republicans held a news conference Thursday that, among other things, accused Democrats of "defunding the police."
"If you look at the mandates that have been placed on law enforcement without sufficient funding, that money has to come from somewhere,” state Rep. Patrick Windhorst, R-Metropolis, said.
State Rep. Ryan Spain, R-Peoria, elaborated. "Part of funding the police means staffing police departments, and the crisis that has been created in law enforcement because of this bill has made it very, very difficult to hire police officers.”
Even before the Republicans' news conference was over, the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus was out with this statement blasting the GOP members.
"As usual with the Republican Party, any effort to make the justice system fairer for Black people is called 'dangerous.' With this law, we have worked directly with community organizations, legal rights advocates and law enforcement to make our justice system more effective and more just at the same time,” the caucus said. “That’s why the Illinois State Police and other law enforcement groups continue to work with us on this bill. "
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