JACKSONVILLE - Assistant Republican Leader C.D. Davidsmeyer (R-Jacksonville) released the following statement in response to Governor Pritzker signing of House Bill 3653:
“Legislation signed today by Governor Pritzker and promoted on a whistle-stop campaign tour is not criminal justice. House Bill 3653 makes Illinois less safe and jeopardizes the safety of victims and law-abiding citizens.
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“Now, police must ticket rather than arrest Peeping-Toms and trespassers. Police officers will only be allowed to pursue criminals if they pose an immediate threat to others. If not, they must let them go and hope to find them at a later date.
“Local governments are now required to purchase body cameras for each police officer, which the law-enforcement community agrees with. However, this is an unfunded mandate from the State to local governments that will force them to raise taxes. They will not only need to pay for the cameras themselves, but for the years of storage for all of the video taken.
“Many of our smaller communities will be forced to make a decision to significantly raise taxes or get rid of their police protection altogether.
“Finally, criminals will no longer be required to pay bail to get out of jail. Prior to this bill, courts would use different factors to decide bail, including propensity to recommit a crime and ability to pay. Victims will be required to face their attacker sometimes within hours of their attack and will have no relief knowing their alleged offender will be let go almost immediately. The criminal will be back on the streets able to hurt someone else in a matter of hours.
“Governor Pritzker and the politicians who support HB 3653 have chosen to change the definition of crime, rather than putting forth effort to stop crime. This bill is a purely political dog-and-pony show that will not accomplish the goal of getting rid of bad law-enforcement officers; rather, it will diminish the ability to keep the peace while giving criminals the upper-hand.”
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