Sangamon Sun

A police reform bill that completely overhauls the profession in Illinois passed last week and is headed to the desk of Gov. J.B. Pritzker to be signed. Republicans are worried about the passage of the bill.

Black Lives Matter-Chicago is happy with the passage of the bill, calling it a historic win for the people. 

Many are worried about the bill, saying that public safety and law enforcement will now look very different.

“Without hyperbole, [HB 3653] seems to all but mandate the immediate pretrial release of drug-dealers, arsonists, and drunk drivers irrespective of their likelihood of re-offending, the danger they pose generally to the public, or their willingness to comply with conditions of their release,” McHenry County State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally said in a statement, Illinois Review reported. “That is absurd and out of step with the expectations that victims and Illinoisans have for their justice system.”

The bill passed with zero Republican votes. Republican State Sen. Dave Syverson was angry with the passage of the bill, saying that it shouldn’t have been passed.

"January 13th at 3:30 a.m., after all the press had left the Capitol, the sponsors of this legislation dropped their 700-page bill and it was voted on one hour later at 4:30 a.m.,” Syverson said in a letter to his constituents. “In addition, they changed the bill number before the vote to confuse the public, then they only allowed two Senators to ask questions. No matter how you look at it, it was wrong. No legislation should ever be passed without an open public process.”

State Sen. Jason Plummer (R-Maryville) also was against the bill, calling it a dangerous criminal justice proposal.

Plummer said the bill would endanger law enforcement and essentially defunds the police.