SAFE-T Act Up For Joliet City Council Vote

JOLIET, IL — With most of the Joliet City Council up for re-election in April, as well as two-term Mayor Bob O'Dekirk, city leaders plan to take a vote in response to the controversial Illinois SAFE-T Act that is set to take effect come January.

"The City of Joliet encourages legislators to work with public safety representatives and all community stakeholders to fix remaining problems with the SAFE-T Act; including, but not limited to, unreasonably limiting the imposition of cash bail, unreasonably limiting police officer discretion to make arrests, imposing unreasonable police certification and decertification standards, and mandating unreasonable custodial accommodations," the last section of Tuesday's Joliet City Council resolution reads.

The resolution is on Tuesday's regular meeting agenda for a vote.

According to other portions of the resolution, on January 22, 2021, the Illinois Safety, Fairness and Equity-Today Act, "SAFE-T Act" was signed into law. The City supports certain elements of the Safe-T Act and has already implemented elements including police body cameras and use of force training."

On the other hand, "The Safe-T Act, contains several elements that impact the ability for the City to most effectively provide police services, including, but not limited to unreasonably limiting the imposition of cash bail, unreasonably limiting police officer discretion to make arrests, imposing unreasonable police certification and decertification standards, and mandating unreasonable custodial accommodations," Joliet's resolution reads.

The resolution also states how "there is an opportunity for legislators to continue to work with public safety representatives and all community stakeholders to further amend the Safe-T Act to address outstanding public safety concerns."

Related Joliet Patch coverage:

Patch Readers Praise Jim Glasgow For Safe-T-Act Lawsuit

Safe-T-Act Lawsuit: Glasgow Wants To Stop Controversial Measure