* I went over this with subscribers earlier and we may talk about it again next week, so here’s Greg Hinz…
A fight that’s beginning to have a major impact on the 2022 elections turned more contentious today as Springfield Republicans and Democrats traded new charges over who’s responsible for rising rates of violent crime in the Chicago area.
In dueling events, Republicans called for total repeal of the Democrats’ signature criminal-justice reform package enacted last year, asserting it so hamstrings police and frees criminals from penalty that it’s beyond salvaging.
Democrats accused Republicans of playing a racial card and trying to score political points with a crime-weary public, and urged GOP lawmakers to work with them on tweaks to the law, not wholesale changes.
Republicans began the exchange when, in a remote press conference, they called for repeal of the 2021 equity bill, known as the SAFE-T Act, which, among other things, phases out the use of cash bail, sets new standards for when police use force, requires officers to restrain any colleague who uses excessive or illegal force, and requires timely medical care for injured people held in custody.
* Beth Hunsdorfer…
Tweaks to the bill, including a measure passed last year diluting some of the use-of-force language in the original bill, aren’t good enough, the Republicans said on Thursday, and the SAFE-T Act should be repealed entirely.
Mazzochi said it would only take a few Democrats to cross over to get it done. “Repeal is a realistic solution. The original, underlying legislation passed with a bare minimum of 60 votes,” Mazzochi said. “ … It almost didn’t pass the first time.” […]
Durkin and Windhorst, both former prosecutors, said the bill made the state more dangerous. Durkin said Democrats would have to answer to their constituents for the bill’s passage and Republicans would use public safety as an issue in upcoming elections. […]
Spain said the Safe-T Act will leave half of the county sheriffs in Illinois leaving their posts and has left city and county police departments scrambling to recruit and retain officers after a wave of resignations in the wake of the bill’s passage.
The bill passed 60-50 in the House and 32-23 in the Senate. That’s a lot of ground to make up.
* Advocates and some Democrats were quite upset…
* The Illinois Legislative Black Caucus also issued a statement…
State Rep. Sonya Harper, Joint Chair of The Illinois Black Caucus (ILBC), state Rep. Kam Buckner, House Chair of the ILBC, and state Senator Robert Peters, Senate Chair of the ILBC, released the following statement after today’s Republicans press conference on the SAFE-T Act:
“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. That’s why the Illinois State Police and other law enforcement groups continue to work with us on this bill. ”
“Many provisions of the SAFE-T Act have not even gone into effect yet, proving the Republican gambit is all for show. In fact, when fully implemented, experts say the SAFE-T Act will help improve public safety by supporting a more holistic approach for first-responders. Instead of coming up with solutions to address crime, Republicans are just trying the same racial scare tactics we see across the country. Today’s press conference is another instance of the Illinois GOP chasing relevancy after years of budget impasses and budget cuts. We trust the public won’t fall for this. We are improving public safety, supporting law enforcement and ending systemic injustice at the same time. We are not going backwards.”
* The governor was asked about it yesterday…
Governor J.B. Pritzker is also defending the bill and firing back at republicans.
“These are the same people that voted against budgets that provide funding for violence interruption programs, those are the people that held that press conference. They don’t really mean what they said. They’re just trying to bring up some sort of campaign issue and frankly, it’s all pretty false,” Pritzker said.
* Some folks did some homework…
“Illinois has become the wild wild Midwest,” Durkin said.
Rates of violent crime have increased in the past few years, said Dr. Magic Wade, assistant professor of political studies at the University of Illinois Springfield.
But that increase cannot be attributed to the SAFE-T Act, she said, because most of the act has yet to go into effect, and crime rates in some parts of the state have been rising since 2015.
“Violent crime was going up before the pandemic,” Wade said. “So the pandemic sort of put into overdrive a trend that was already happening.”
Wade, who studies the criminal justice system, said the increase in crime observed in Illinois is part of a nationwide trend. Criminologists do not agree on why crime rates rise and fall, which leaves room for people to interpret data in more partisan ways.
…Adding… Miletich…
Yet, many of the frequent talking points about the skyrocketing crime center around eliminating cash bail. The “Pretrial Fairness Act” doesn’t take effect until 2023. House Lead Sponsor Justin Slaughter (D-Chicago) said Republicans need to stop the divisive rhetoric about the law.
“A lot, if not all, of the SAFE-T Act is steeped in strong research and is evidence-based,” Slaughter said in an interview Thursday. “That’s what we relied on, and that’s what we leaned on.”
Slaughter also said it’s important not to turn back the clock on criminal justice reform. He feels the Republican’s approach to “lock ‘em up and toss away the key” hurts communities of color. He nicknamed the GOP effort the “Dangerous Act.”
While some Democrats were hesitant to support the SAFE-T Act, it’s doubtful enough Democrats would join Republicans to repeal this law.
“It’s not going to be repealed,” Slaughter said. “As long as I’m chairing the House Judiciary-Criminal Committee, the Dangerous Act will not see the light of day. I will tell you that.”
* But coverage follows conflict…
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.
That lede is emblematic of why the Democrats have so much work to do this year, both here and in DC.
- Blue Dog - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 10:28 am:
Yesterday, Dems laid the groundwork for their campaign theme. Today it’s the Republican. Curious to see which litmus test will influence independents come 2022.
- JJJJJJJJJJ - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 10:34 am:
Robberies in Chicago are down over the last 20 years.
https://twitter.com/CFJC_NULaw/status/1484196836361576456
This whole conversation is frequently devoid of real analysis of what prevents crime. And frankly a lot of journalists do a huge disservice when they blindly report about crime without contextualizing over a longer period than just one year.
- Arsenal - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 10:38 am:
Crime is a big vulnerability for Dems this year, but if Republicans refuse to back any legislation to address it without repeal of the CJR laws, that’s gonna mitigate the damage.
- Rich Miller - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 10:39 am:
===contextualizing over a longer period than just one year===
Or when they do things like compare Chicago murder numbers to the lowest year in decades (2019) or even mention that fact.
- Downstate - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 10:39 am:
“Robberies in Chicago are down over the last 20 years.”
Homicides/year by administration….
Daley……666
Emanuel….566
Lightfoot…989
- JJJJJJJJJJ - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 10:40 am:
Like how hard would it be to add an independent statistic that isn’t just a direct quote to contextualize the issue?
https://www.thecentersquare.com/illinois/with-increased-crime-republicans-call-for-action-as-democrats-look-to-slow-down-to-speed/article_5c31b88c-7a42-11ec-932f-6be8e721bc0f.html
Yes there were 800 murders in chicago last year, but murders (gross and rate) were down steadily for the previous five years and indeed the previous 30 years.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-history-of-chicago-homicides-htmlstory.html
You’re not telling the story without this context. Since when is journalism just copying and pasting dueling press releases?
- Rich Miller - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 10:42 am:
Downstate, simply posting murder numbers (in a somewhat odd way) to push back against robbery numbers is disingenuous at best.
- JJJJJJJJJJ - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 10:43 am:
@Downstate
Sample size issue there. Lightfoot has been in office for two years, Rahm was 8 and Daley 2.0 was in office for 22 years. Deceptive use of statistics and I’m sure you know better.
- Google Is Your Friend - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 10:48 am:
Do we really think Mazzochi cares about DV victims? Let’s remember she tried to walk her party off the cliff being against a bill to crack down on revenge porn. Then, hours later, the embarrassed Republicans asked to reconsider the vote (after Mazzochi stormed out for the day).
https://www.ilga.gov/house/transcripts/htrans101/10100061.pdf
- Grandson of Man - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 10:48 am:
Criminal justice reform can always be tweaked or ever have major changes. If politics factors in, like losing seats and the governor position, pity the fools who don’t act, and later lose elections. There are no moral points for poor strategy.
Republicans are jumping on their high horses, but they and their former leader decimated social services and violence prevention programs. One way to show seriousness about fighting crime is to refuse Griffin’s money.
If we address crime to lower numbers to the point that certain people feel mentally comfortable, that will not solve the deep-seated problems that contribute to high crime rates in certain communities, like segregation. How many law and order types have gone to these communities to try to turn people’s lives around (and that goes for the rest of us as well)?
- Oswego Willy - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 10:55 am:
To the post,
Republicans making crime an issue, more than fair, and “issuing” their own crime package, at what cost will the ILGOP, members of the GOP GA, be willing to pay if they’re package isn’t considered but a “redo” does wind it’s way thru, maybe even including GOP ideas… will they be red, declare victory for the changes but not be in favor of any in a roll call?
What will be victory outside if nothing gets changed?
- Perrid - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 10:57 am:
Crime is up nationwide, but the new law passed last year that largely hasn’t gone into effect is the reason why crime has been increasing for the last 6 years?
You just can’t make up how gullible voters are.
- very old soil - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 11:05 am:
A closer and longer look at national murder and violent crime statistics. Maybe it’s all the guns?
https://jabberwocking.com/heres-some-data-about-our-recent-spike-in-murder/
- Amalia - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 11:05 am:
everything is amplified with electronic forms of communication, not just social media. an event that happens across the globe resonates. coverage of an event here is amplified. social media…and rap music…play a big role in increasing the communication of threats and responses. anecdotes ring larger. and several crimes are happening in places where they don’t usually happen, never mind the Kim Foxx types who just don’t get it. Dems have a problem but it is not mostly of their own making.
- Grandson of Man - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 11:05 am:
Time and money wasted on arresting, prosecuting and incarcerating people for certain lower-level drug offenses could be better-spent on fighting violent crime. Am I worried about the person with two brick-sized packages of cocaine who sells it to consenting adults or the person who’s going to carjack and shoot me? Why is this person occupying a prison cell, with all the costs of incarceration, that could be used for a violent person?
- Downstate - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 11:07 am:
Rich,
Fair criticism. My apologies.
- Arsenal - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 11:07 am:
==You just can’t make up how gullible voters are. ==
TBF, it’s not clear that voters are going to blame the new law. Frankly, I’d be surprised how many voters actually know about the new law.
I think a lot of it is just “Crime is up and a Democrat is President, so it’s the Democrats’ fault.”
Just like how in 2020, “There is a pandemic and a Republican is President so it’s the Republicans’ fault.”
- Rich Miller - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 11:08 am:
===Why is this person occupying a prison cell, with all the costs of incarceration, that could be used for a violent person?===
Extra space is not an issue.
- Publius - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 11:11 am:
I thought everyone was innocent until proven guilty. The problem is that a cash bail was developed to be sure people showed up to trial. If there was a risk that they wouldn’t show up to a trial then they could be held in jail until trial. The problem is we say that someone charged with a crime may be dangerous and could commit another crime before trial. If that is the case the Police should make their case and the judge should rules they are too dangerous to out of jail until trial. Just putting everyone in jail before trial even if it is months before their trial is against Magna Carta which is still enforce and surprised no one has mentioned before. “XXIX. NO Freeman shall be taken or imprisoned, or be disseised of his Freehold, or Liberties, or free Customs, or be outlawed, or exiled, or any other wise destroyed; nor will We not pass upon him, nor condemn him, but by lawful judgment of his Peers, or by the Law of the land. We will sell to no man, we will not deny or defer to any man either Justice or Right. Magna Carta 1215”
- Brr Cold - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 11:14 am:
Problem is that these days the Democrats seem more worried about the rights of criminals, rather than the rights of the victims and society as a whole. Give the criminals an inch and they’ll take a mile.
- Publius - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 11:18 am:
@ Brr Cold You are not a criminal until you are convicted by your peers. See my prior post. In this country it is your right to a trial. Last I checked Judge Dredd isn’t real.
- Oswego Willy - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 11:20 am:
===Problem is that these days the Democrats seem more worried about the rights of criminals, rather than the rights of the victims and society as a whole.===
If you don’t believe in innocent until proven guilty, this is the sweet spot to racial injustice and the base idea that incarceration and punishment is the ideal.
I may not agree with every part of the criminal justice reform package, and see the needed changes to the political and legislative, but being the angry “lock em all up, throw away the key” ideal hadn’t made things overall better, otherwise there would be no need for any reform.
- Donnie Elgin - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 11:24 am:
the Dems created this monster - doesn’t matter to voters if the so-called bail reform starts today or Next January, they passed it. Dem leaders like Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx failing to prosecute felonies is a prime example of the sea-change. No nuance is needed. The crime issue will play well in the 2022 election cycle both locally and nationally
- DuPage Moderate - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 11:26 am:
Terra Costa Howard - Your district is watching.
- Rich Miller - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 11:29 am:
===failing to prosecute felonies===
You can easily point to instances here or there, but I’ve yet to see definitive proof that she has refused to prosecute felonies even if they were good cases.
Also…
Through December of last year, less than 12% of 203,530 reported crimes resulted in an arrest, according to city data analyzed by the Sun-Times. That’s way down from the numbers from 2019 that were presented during the meeting. That year, arrests were made in more than 21% of the 260,889 reported crimes.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/2022/1/5/22869450/police-cpd-lori-lightfoot-david-brown-arrest-increase-crime-quota-demotion-clearance-rate-murder
- Downstate - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 11:30 am:
“Sample size issue there.”
Actually, the murder number is the total homicides during each administration divided by the number of years of each administration.
Stats come from the web site that’s got a difficult name. heyjacka$$.com
- Homebody - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 11:31 am:
== That lede is emblematic of why the Democrats have so much work to do this year, both here and in DC. ==
Seems to be the problem is media uncritically reporting things one side says. The standard practice of opening with a dry explanation of one partisan side’s claim, even if you spend the rest of the article debunking it, still gives credence to the original claim.
- Nefarious Veneer - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 11:31 am:
The reform law bases detention on threat/risk of violence.
The advocates won’t say it, but it is the ultimate, criminal justice lock em up (no matter how much money they have) policy.
No wonder the GOP is upset.
Their core belief is if you have money, the system doesn’t apply to you.
- Rich Miller - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 11:31 am:
Downstate, you missed the point. Sample size is an issue there. It’s a political stat, not an actual one.
- Donnie Elgin - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 11:33 am:
“I’ve yet to see definitive proof that she has refused to prosecute felonies even if they were good cases”
During Foxx’s first three years as the county’s top prosecutor, her office dropped all charges against 29.9% of felony defendants, a dramatic increase over her predecessor, the Tribune found. For the last three years of Anita Alvarez’s tenure, the rate was 19.4%.
In all, a total of 25,183 people had their felony cases dismissed under Foxx through November 2019, up from 18,694 for a similar period under Alvarez.
Kim Foxx drops more felony cases as Cook County state’s attorney than her predecessor, Tribune analysis shows
- Oswego Willy - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 11:34 am:
===Your district is watching===
What are they exactly “watching”?
What will “appease” you?
Votes for the changes and the GOP package doesn’t see a vote, you going to vote against her, sounds like you’re voting against her anyway.
It’s a hollow threat, except for single issue voters predetermined to vote against someone and looking for that “reason”
So what are “they” watching, as you speak for the district?
- Anyone Remember - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 11:34 am:
“Spain said the Safe-T Act will leave half of the county sheriffs in Illinois leaving their posts … .”
This issue was raised as part of the whole Howard Buffet / ILETSB / Brent Fischer “episode” … . Sheriffs now have to complete Illinois Law Enforcement training (or equivalent from another state / federal). In addition to untrained sheriffs, the legislation does not recognize a sheriff who has only county correctional / court security training.
Does the GOP want to go back having untrained sheriffs?
- Roadrager - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 11:38 am:
==Stats come from the web site that’s got a difficult name. heyjacka$$.com==
Okay, so solve this for me:
(846+797+519)/3
You said the answer is 989. Show your work, please. Pre-Common Core long division preferred.
- JJJJJJJJJJ - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 11:40 am:
@Donnie Elgin
I appreciate the point you make about Foxx dropping felonies since it is grounded in fact. But, I do have a seriou question for you. Do you think murders are going up because Foxx dropped 8.1% of homicides vs. Alvarez’s 5.3%? Do you seriously believe that is the cause? Do potential murderers ponder that they are 2.8% more likely to have their charges dropped? Not trying to be a jerk, this is a serious question. Explain to me how this works.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/investigations/ct-viz-kim-foxx-anita-alvarez-comparison-20200810-32buh3a4p5bfjnpcpo6shpk4ui-htmlstory.html
- Rich Miller - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 11:42 am:
===Kim Foxx drops more felony cases as Cook County state’s attorney than her predecessor===
That’s raw and therefore dumb data. The city has forked out millions a year for wrongful convictions, etc. There’s been an attempt to address this very real problem.
- Roadrager - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 11:51 am:
Every right-winger with a keyboard thinks Kim Foxx has singlehandedly turned Chicago into (even more of) a lawless wasteland because of her lousy dealings in the Jussie Smollett case, which sent that side of the media landscape into a nationwide froth. You spend some time doing even a surface reading of crime and criminal justice in this city, and you’re going to see problems with how crime and criminal justice are addressed in the courts, in how things operate among CPD’s white shirts and the force on the street, and with the mayor and the aldermen. It’s not one root cause nor an easy solve, but claiming it is plays well on TV and on Facebook.
- Roadrager - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 11:52 am:
==Does the GOP want to go back having untrained sheriffs?==
Some of them want you to be able to self-deputize, in fact.
- Not a Superstar - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 11:56 am:
DuPage Moderate
Actually, her district is screaming on FB about how to keep “those people” (wink wink) from terrorizing suburban malls. Mass incarceration has been tried and has failed, miserably. Why can’t the GOP try actually supporting communities?
- charles in charge - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 11:59 am:
===Kim Foxx drops more felony cases as Cook County state’s attorney than her predecessor===
Thousands of those cases are dead end drug arrests that never should have been made in the first place, and shoplifting cases that would be classified as misdemeanors in any surrounding state. Do you get that “focusing on violent crime” means burning fewer system resources on nonviolent crimes?
- Publius - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 12:00 pm:
Sheriffs are another problem. Again it’s all in Magna Carta. #24 Prohibited royal officials, such as sheriffs, from trying a crime as an alternative to a royal judge. #45 The King should appoint only justices, constables, sheriffs, or bailiffs who knew and would enforce the law.
- Pundent - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 12:06 pm:
=During Foxx’s first three years as the county’s top prosecutor, her office dropped all charges against 29.9% of felony defendants, a dramatic increase over her predecessor, the Tribune found. For the last three years of Anita Alvarez’s tenure, the rate was 19.4%.=
I guess you don’t see the correlation with the 12% of crimes that resulted in an arrest. The CPD is doing a lousy job of clearing cases. Why should we not also believe that they’re doing an equally lousy job of investigating those they are bringing forward for prosecution? The civil settlements alone underscore some major defficiencies.
This problem is obviously much bigger than Kim Foxx.
- hisgirlfriday - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 12:07 pm:
Just because the Illinois GOP wants the 2022 election to be about this does not mean Dems have to go along with it.
I mean what else does the GOP even have to run on?
They are completely out of step with the Illinois electorate on the U.S. Supreme Court greenlighting the criminalization of abortion in Republican states.
They have no grounds to take credit for the Illinois unemployment rate going down or the state’s credit rating or bill backlog improving.
Their base is still in thrall to a sore loser who lost this state by 17 percentage points in the last two presidential elections.
The GOP has some divides between vaxxed folks and anti-vaxxers.
Is there anything that unites the GOP establishment in the suburbs and Eastern bloc Trumpers besides crime panic and fear of post-BLM social unrest?
- Joe Bidenopolous - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 12:13 pm:
=heyjacka$$.com=
Y’know, if there’s one website I would choose that presents unimpeachable facts, it’s definitely gonna be one with a name like that. smdh at the idiots
- Lucky Pierre - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 12:14 pm:
Any Chicagoan who has been on a Virtual CAPS call with over 1,000 other neighbors logging in would quickly realize the concern about rising violent crime extends far beyond “right wingers”
- Just Me 2 - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 12:28 pm:
Have a friend who is an officer. Said his job has never been harder. The public approaches him with an assumption he is the enemy. Dude is the nicest guy I know. Three kids, goes to church, helps his neighbors. Even he is looking for a new job. That ain’t right.
- Google Is Your Friend - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 12:31 pm:
- Pundent - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 12:06 pm:
Also not that the Chicago Police do not follow best practices for detective work and investigations according to the Police Executive Research Forum
https://home.chicagopolice.org/homicideclearancereport2019/
- Mason born - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 12:31 pm:
I’m not sure stats help on this issue. Sure crime is massively down since the 90’s, sure it looks even worse compared to the low point in 19, but how much comfort is that if your friends, family, and coworkers are recounting how they were victims. Add in Social Media and now it’s veritable billboards saying “You could be a victim! Just like I was.” Not sure the what any particular politician can do about but saying, “it isn’t THAT bad” is not likely to get rewarded.
- Droppin gs - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 12:52 pm:
This thread is a preview of the campaign rhetoric we can expect. I get it, but I miss the days that when the campaign ended, leaders got serious again and worked together to solve problems. LBJ ram the daisy ad during his campaign with Goldwater. He won by a landslide, then returned to the White House to continue passing Great Society legislation. Negotiation shouldn’t be viewed so negatively, especially when it leads to progress on a more just society.
- Lt Guv - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 12:52 pm:
“Half the county sheriffs in Illinois leaving their posts. . .”
That’s a bad thing?
- Long year - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 12:53 pm:
So Democrats are having a bad year because of bad lazy reporting by journalists in IL and across the nation. Can’t argue with that.
- MisterJayEm - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 12:55 pm:
“Kim Foxx drops more felony cases as Cook County state’s attorney than her predecessor”
In Illinois, every non-cannabis drug possession charge — regardless of amount — is a felony.
Chicago is a “direct file” jurisdiction, so police can bypass the States Attorney’s office and directly file those drug charges in court without any attorney review of the case’s merit.
Such rubbish drug charges are the felonies that account for much of that raw number’s increase in Cook County.
– MrJM
- dupage dem - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 12:58 pm:
Dupage Moderate
You do realize the TCH did not vote for the reform bill. She did support the changes that were supported by law enforcement earlier this month. She votes her district.. They should be proud of her.
- Roman - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 1:09 pm:
== I’ve yet to see definitive proof that she has refused to prosecute felonies ==
When it comes to retail theft, she’s actually enshrined it in office policy. Foxx won’t file felony theft charges unless the cash value of the merchandise stolen is in excess of $1,000, even though state law sets the felony prosecution threshold at $300. In the wake of mounting criticism from retailers, Foxx has hinted she might revisit the policy:
https://www.chicagobusiness.com/government/chicago-crime-states-attorney-kim-foxx-mulls-changes-retail-theft-felony-policy
- Da big bad wolf - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 1:13 pm:
The Violent Crimes Intelligence Task Force takes effect this January. How about looking at some of the very good legislation that is dealing with crime problem, not some legislation that will take effect in a couple of years.
- Roadrager - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 1:15 pm:
==Have a friend who is an officer. Said his job has never been harder. The public approaches him with an assumption he is the enemy.==
There have been multiple stories over the past years of departments sending their officers to private “weekend warrior” training conferences, where officers have it drilled into them that their duty is not “protect and serve” so much as it is “engage the enemy,” and that the public in general should be engaged as a threat and approached accordingly. Combine that with two decades of military surplus being dropped on departments far and wide, and the perception of police as an “enemy” has a fair bit of reaping what has been sown in it. And that’s without considering the decades of departments’ approach to communities of color.
- Payback - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 1:27 pm:
“Spain said the Safe-T Act will leave half of the county sheriffs in Illinois leaving their posts…” This is the greatest news for the safety of Illinois citizens in the past fifty years! Turnover and retirement of corrupt dinosaurs, especially Sheriffs in rural areas, is a boon to professional law enforcement in Illinois. Old cops teach the young cops their dirty tricks, and it perpetuates like fraternity hazing, but with our lives and liberties at risk instead.
“…city and county police departments scrambling to recruit and retain officers…” Biggest nonsense myth of all time: “No one will want to be a cop any more” (Unless we as society let police shoot whoever they want, whenever they want, plant false evidence, and torture for confessions like Jon Burge). Go away Spain.
- Me2 - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 1:28 pm:
There is data, and there is perception. Regardless of the data, there is a perception that crime is increasing, particularly in Chicago and the suburbs. Couple that perception with the mid-term party backlash and it sets up the Republicans to tell voters that Democrats won’t keep them safe. The vast majority of voters do not carefully comb through data before deciding how to vote. So suburban Democrats should be very concerned that this strategy will work against them.
- Da big bad wolf - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 1:30 pm:
=== though state of Illinois is an outlier for the United
States and sets the felony prosecution threshold at $300.===
Fixed it for you.
Only New Jersey and Virginia have a lower felony threshold for shoplifting than Illinois. 45 states have more than double Illinois’ rate, 15 of those have thresholds over $1200.
- Hieronymus - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 1:32 pm:
“Have a friend who is an officer. Said his job has never been harder. The public approaches him with an assumption he is the enemy. Dude is the nicest guy I know. Three kids, goes to church, helps his neighbors. Even he is looking for a new job. That ain’t right.”
In addition to Roadrager’s comments, please ask your friend why he thinks that the public views him as an enemy. Serious question, no snark implied or intended.
Ask him whether he know or ever knew of specific instances of bad police or bad policing go unaddressed or swept under the rug. And what he, the good cop, did about it.
- Dr. M - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 1:33 pm:
We can quibble all we want about why violent crime is up. The bottom line is that decades of declining urban violence provided political cover for progressive prosecutors to win elections and state lawmakers to enact criminal justice reforms aimed at reducing prison and jail populations. Those are a much tougher sell when violent crime is perceptibly surging.
- TNR - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 1:47 pm:
== “…city and county police departments scrambling to recruit and retain officers…” ==
Lots of nonsense being tossed around, but whatever the reason, this is a genuine problem.
- Arsenal - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 1:49 pm:
==the Dems created this monster - doesn’t matter to voters if the so-called bail reform starts today or Next January, they passed it.==
Of course it matters. If the bail reforms don’t kick in until next January, then they’re not the cause of the current rise in violent crime. What, do you think that violent criminals are like “Oh, boy,in a year my bail will be decided by how violent I am, not how much I can pay, I’m gonna do a bunch of crimes right now”? Of course you don’t. You’ve just been told that you’re supposed to try to blame crime on Dems this year.
- Lucky Pierre - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 1:54 pm:
The statewide bail reforms don’t kick in until next year.
Judge Evans in Cook County implemented bail reform in 2017 and the results speak for themselves
Democrats are ignoring this and the results from NY and California
https://chicago.suntimes.com/platform/amp/politics/2021/1/16/22231974/cash-bail-reform-illinois-new-york-california-reforms-criminal-justice
- very old soil - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 1:59 pm:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/01/21/homicide-rates-have-soared-nationwide-mayors-see-chance-turnaround-2022/
- JJJJJJJJJJ - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 2:09 pm:
I can’t belieive this has to be said, but the data matters insofar as it helps solve the issue of crime rates. Assuming that’s something we expect legislators to care about.
- here we go - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 2:57 pm:
To me, this started the week before the criminal justice reform passed. House and Senate Dem comms staff should have been ready to go on offense statewide to spin this. But, as usual with these types of difficult bills, Democrats went into hiding - mostly downstate - hoping the issue would go away. It never does, folks.
This has always been more of a branding - rather than policy - issue.
Democrats go on defense too often.
- Dotnonymous - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 3:13 pm:
“Have a friend who is an officer. Said his job has never been harder. The public approaches him with an assumption he is the enemy.”
https://www.wweek.com/news/2022/01/14/portland-police-include-prayer-of-the-alt-knight-meme-in-protest-training-presentation/
- Chitruth - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 3:45 pm:
Kim Foxx is certainly not the entire problem, but she is part of the problem. She appears to be a public defender masquerading as a prosecutor. And friends of mine on the police force have been warning for a few years now that the relentless anti-police rhetoric from politicians and the media is causing many policemen to back off from active crime stopping.
- cermak_rd - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 4:15 pm:
I don’t think anyone is afraid of shoplifters though so her not prosecuting people shoplifting less than $800 stuff is likely not what people are afraid of.
I mean, if my $300 bike is stolen are the cops going to do anything? If not, why should the retailers get extra care?
The only time I would care about that is if it is a conspiracy to do it (say via social media) then they should prosecute the conspiracy and consider all the loot taken to be added up and attributed to each conspirator.
- TNR - Friday, Jan 21, 22 @ 4:17 pm:
== House and Senate Dem comms staff should have been ready to go on offense statewide to spin this. ==
Can’t speak for the Dem GA comms staff, but JB has messaged very aggressively on this. He did a statewide media tour when he signed the bill and also tried to draw a lot of attention to the millions of dollars pumped into the “re-imagine public safety” social spending programs a few months ago. Seemingly, that PR push hasn’t moved the needle.
Not surprising the Dems are losing the comms battle. News media has loved covering crime since the first newspaper was printed. And modern media in particular focus on political conflict, not public policy. When you’re explaining you’re losing.