* Center Square…
Springfield Alderman Chuck Redpath had a different take. As someone with a law enforcement background, he said the new law makes him sick to his stomach and is a “slap in the face” for law enforcement.
“I saw the picture this morning of the governor touting how much he’s going to fix racism in police departments and surrounded by all these people from Chicago, the most corrupt city in not just the state of Illinois but probably the country and they’re going to tell us how to reform our police departments,” Redpath said. “Are you serious?”
Um, you mean pics like this Chuck?…
Gee, I wonder what my alderman could’ve been talking about.
* And while opponents have said they want changes, they apparently haven’t yet offered any…
[Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police] Executive Director Ed Wojcicki called the bill the “anti-police bill” in a statement Monday but noted law enforcement was already working with the bill’s supporters “to fix the most serious problems.”
[Sen. Elgie Sims], however, said despite months of pushback he has yet to see what language opponents of the bill would rather see in the law.
“I have heard from and talked to a number of organizations related to different parts of the new law,” he said. “Like others, I am still waiting for specific proposals.”
Wojcicki, however, has been called out by some of his own members…
In a statement earlier this month, Wojcicki referenced a “powerful” conversation he had with Black senior law enforcement personnel, and noted it was “painful to hear” their experience of being mistreated because of their race.
“They think that our association and I should acknowledge that the bill did not emerge from nowhere. It emerged from festering frustration from the black community about personal negative experiences with the police during their lives,” he said in the statement, while praising their ability to shape the conversation in a way that will build trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve.
And yet, he went on to claim the legislation was “anti-police” and whined about the governor’s tone.
* The pearl-clutching over the governor’s push-back is quite something to behold, particularly considering some of the things they’ve said…
“This is a very devastating piece of legislation for law enforcement and the communities that we serve,” said Lower, who serves on the Illinois Sheriffs Association’s legislative committee, to WCBU. “It will basically gut law enforcement. It takes away all of law enforcement’s ability to do our job.”
No hyperbole there.
Media coverage of this bill has been mainly regurgitating law enforcement talking points.
* But, give Pritzker credit. Instead of just waiting in silence for the heat to blow over, the governor went on a Downstate barn-storming tour with Black Caucus members and others yesterday, including those who didn’t start out supporting some of the bill’s provisions…
State Sen. Scott Bennett, D-Champaign, said he initially opposed ending cash bail, but eventually came around to supporting it.
“What I’ve learned … is that cash bail doesn’t keep anybody safer,” he said. While judges may think they’re sending a message with a high bond, that doesn’t work if the suspect has access to money, he added.
“The next thing you know, no matter how high the bond was set, they were out and the witnesses and the victims were very scared,” Bennett said. “If you’re not a violent offender, you should have a chance to prove you’re willing to come to court the next time, until you prove that you’re not going to take that seriously.”
* However, you have to read to the end of this story to see a single substantive argument from the prevailing side…
During the more than hour-long news conference at Proctor Center, legislators lauded the new law. Among them was Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth of Peoria, who adamantly objected to the notion that the new law makes communities less safe.
“That’s simply not true,” she said. “They will tell you that … there are victims out there who are now going to be in danger. That too, ladies and gentlemen, is not true.”
Gordon-Booth’s own family has been traumatized by violent crime. Her stepson Derrick Booth Jr. was fatally shot in the spring of 2015.
“My family’s story is like so many families’ stories across this country. Families from communities like this, they are the most harmed, they are the least served. And the fact of the matter is that victims’ voices have been leveraged to create an industrialized prison system that does not make communities more safe. Those policies have actually made communities far less safe,” said Gordon-Booth.
- Bruce( no not him) - Thursday, Feb 25, 21 @ 10:45 am:
Apparently, this bill is the greatest thing ever, or the end of civilization as we know it. Guess time will tell. After all the furor dies down, and reality sets in.
- Flyin' Elvis'-Utah Chapter - Thursday, Feb 25, 21 @ 10:48 am:
From my 50+ years in this world, whenever someone, or a group of someones, point to one thing and start screaming armageddon I immediately and permanently put them in the “pay no attention to” folder.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Feb 25, 21 @ 11:00 am:
If the goal is to have harsh racial underpinnings, then what will continue is this premise that the divide in race is found in all facets, including systemic and institutional racism, and “welcoming” that in discussions.
The GOP types that want to discuss policy to this, deciding to have “others” talk about “pictures”, as an example, that will take away from any real issues anyone may want to argue.
But, you can’t fix… you can’t fix systemic and institutional racism if the argument you begin with has one describe a picture, and without much subtlety.
Good on the governor, et al., for making the signing a statewide, barn storming event. It reminds everyone that bills signed as this is will impact all of Illinois.
- Norseman - Thursday, Feb 25, 21 @ 11:04 am:
=== This is not Facebook, so uncivil comments … ===
This admonition should be applied to all political dialogue. Sadly, uncivility has become an art form for so many of today’s politicians.
- Publius - Thursday, Feb 25, 21 @ 11:24 am:
Not sure how cash bond helped if someone with access to 10% can get out while other people sit there for months. I thought you were innocent until provent guilty. Just because you cannot pay doesn’t make you guilty. Bail should be a security that you will show up to a trial.
https://law.jrank.org/pages/563/Bail.html
- don the legend - Thursday, Feb 25, 21 @ 11:24 am:
Anyone who has ever had a conversation with Alderman Redpath or witnessed his rhetoric is fully aware that he failed to take his education seriously.
- TheInvisibleMan - Thursday, Feb 25, 21 @ 11:28 am:
=== build trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve. ===
These are obviously just buzzwords for the department. They don’t seem to be aware of what they are saying.
Lying to the ‘communities you serve’ because of your personal agenda is the exact opposite way to build trust.
I’m not losing any trust in the police because of a single thing the governor has done. However, combined with the behavior of various sheriffs departments around the state over the past 12 months, the only thing causing me to lose trust in the sheriffs department, is the sheriffs departments behavior
- Anyone Remember - Thursday, Feb 25, 21 @ 11:35 am:
Alderman Redpath has QUITE the backstory … .
- Not the Dude - Thursday, Feb 25, 21 @ 11:36 am:
“Gee, I wonder what my alderman could’ve been talking about.” So I guess you won’t be boating on Lake Springfield with him anytime soon.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Feb 25, 21 @ 11:43 am:
===So I guess you won’t be boating on Lake Springfield===
lol
We never have. And anybody who said crud like that on the ol’ pontoon might find himself swimming home. /s
Chuck and I always got along pretty well. Recently, though, something has either changed in him or he’s felt free to publicly say things I never heard him say even in private.
- Give Me A Break - Thursday, Feb 25, 21 @ 11:43 am:
All Redpath statements about anything should be followed by, “Paid for by Redpath for Mayor and the Sangamon County GOP expect for Alderman Hanauer who wants to be the next Mayor”.
- XonXoff - Thursday, Feb 25, 21 @ 11:47 am:
– “It will basically gut law enforcement. It takes away all of law enforcement’s ability to do our job.” –
“gut?” “all?” Holy Cow, that sounds like wholesale lawlessness. Might as well shoot for the moon and scare as many of the gullible as possible. It’s worked in the past.
These guys need to get back in line — including their legislative committee — back to law “enforcement.”
- Nick - Thursday, Feb 25, 21 @ 11:50 am:
I think my default now is to just not take law enforcement rhetoric seriously.
Which is unfortunate. But it really is nothing but hyperbole.
- Jocko - Thursday, Feb 25, 21 @ 11:51 am:
I missed the part where Redpath said, “They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”
- ArchPundit - Thursday, Feb 25, 21 @ 12:01 pm:
Reporters need to ask for specific examples of how eliminating cash bail stops police from doing their job. It’s a weird argument as it doesn’t affect their ability to make an arrest, to investigate a crime, or respond to calls.
Unless the real concern is that they will not need as many employees with fewer people sitting in jail waiting for trial.
All of this happens before anyone has been convicted. There is a presumption of innocence.
- Norseman - Thursday, Feb 25, 21 @ 12:14 pm:
=== Recently, though, something has either changed in him … ===
Like too many in this country, he caught trumpitis. Symptoms are: rampant rhetoric vilifying those holding different views; spouting lies and phony conspiracy theories; and, the embracing of illegal or ethically questionable actions to attain and retain power. It has been found to be communicable. End result of widespread infection is the loss of democracy.
- dbk - Thursday, Feb 25, 21 @ 12:31 pm:
The scholar Simon Balto has remarked that our poorest and most racially diverse neighborhoods (think Chicago’s South and West sides or Peoria’s Southside)are in fact “overpoliced and underprotected.”
The end of cash bail is going to cut way down on pre-trial mass incarceration, it’s going to make it harder for prosecutors to compel the accused into agreeing to plea deals (even when they’re innocent), and it’s going to make judges’ jobs more difficult, because they’ll actually have to decide whether someone accused will be held or not. Oh, and since a lot of smaller municipalities really, really depend on bail money, so they’ll need to find other revenue streams.
This bill is truly groundbreaking - Illinois was presented in in the NYT (piece was okay, not great; didn’t get into the weeds much beyond “ending cash bail”) as a national leader in criminal justice reform.
One of the reasons such a bill was needed - in Illinois and across the nation - is exactly people like Mr. Redpath.
- Dotnonymous - Thursday, Feb 25, 21 @ 12:37 pm:
Our American Democracy is being put to it’s greatest test…today…from homegrown fascism.
Speak up for democracy or lose it.
Courage is contagious.
- TheInvisibleMan - Thursday, Feb 25, 21 @ 12:42 pm:
=== Recently, though, something has either changed in him ===
There’s a pretty fascinating documentary about this happening to people all across the country, and more specifically why it happens.
“The Brainwashing Of My Dad”
It’s not a coincidence who it is impacting. It’s directly targeted at them, and it works.
- ArchPundit - Thursday, Feb 25, 21 @ 2:58 pm:
===This bill is truly groundbreaking
I agree and I think the prohibition of bail bonds and especially bounty hunters in Illinois suggests this is an area that Illinois has excelled. Illinois has plenty of problems, but this is an area it has done well.
- Nameless - Thursday, Feb 25, 21 @ 3:32 pm:
Very, very long overdue. I champion the Governor and Legislature for passing this bill.
- Retired FF - Thursday, Feb 25, 21 @ 4:13 pm:
Alderman Redpath is very concerned about public safety and yet he voted to give impose drastic cuts to the Springfield Fire Department. Those guys are pretty busy and losing personnel will do nothing but harm the residents and visitors to our Capital.