Central Illinois Republicans continue push to reinstate cash bail

Posted on November 2, 2022
Members of the Freedom Caucus – central Illinois Republican House members – held a news conference in Decatur Tuesday morning. (WJBC file photo)

By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – The Safe-T Act, the highest profile portion of which being the elimination of cash bail effective Jan. 1, is not on the ballot next week. But, for all the hue and cry Illinois Republicans and law enforcers have raised, it may as well be.

“I will demand a repeal of this act and a replacement,” said statehouse hopeful Dr. Lisa Smith. “We need to keep our families safe. We need to keep our commuinties safe.”

Smith, a Republican from Mount Auburn, is running against State Rep. Sue Scherer (D-Decatur).

“One of the things the court traditionally looks at is bail,” said Macon County state’s attorney Scott Reuter. “Bail, at its most basic form now, is there to ensure that people show up in court. That’s the purpose of bail. The secondary purpose is to make the community safer.”

Members of the Freedom Caucus – central Illinois Republican House members – held a news conference in Decatur Tuesday morning. The message is: vote Republican next week to give the state a better chance to repeal what the Republicans don’t like.

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected]

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year.  It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city.   Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University.   We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk.  Going to work every day for some people means…