Sangamon County (IL) Sheriff Jack Campbell at the Guns Save Life meeting in SCHEELS in Springfield, IL. Image by Boch.

Sangamon County, Illinois Sheriff Jack Campbell addressed about eighty gun owners at a Guns Save Life meeting in Springfield Monday evening. He talked about the Land of Lincoln’s upcoming effective date of the so-called SAFE-T Act, otherwise know as no cash bail. On January 1st, the state will do away with cash bail for nearly all crimes, including second degree murder, kidnapping, armed robbery, and more.

It’s going to be messy.

Sheriff Campbell had nothing good to say about the new law or the people who passed it.  He began his presentation telling folks that the new law will result in a hundred or more inmates being released on New Year’s Day, almost all of whom were charged with serious drug or violent crimes.

What’s more, he noted that everyday people have good reason to be worried. And every county in the state — all 102 of them — is in the same boat.

“You gotta protect yourself,” the Sheriff said. Campbell reminded folks that a firearm was the most effective tool for self-defense. Safety can be in your hand in seconds when help is minutes away.

At the same time, he advised — in the strongest possible terms — to put the gun away or holster it before the deputies roll up on scene. “Do what you have to do to protect your family,” he said.

What is this new law? On social media, many call it “The Purge” law because bad guys will essentially have a get-out-of-jail-free card. Arrests for theft, burglary, drug charges, whatever…all will result in the immediate release of the suspects, no matter how much property or merchandise was stolen or how much drugs were found.

“You could have ten kilos of heroin and we would have to release you,” he said.

The New York Post had a good story about the new law’s pending implementation . . .

In “The Purge” movie series, one night a year is set aside for Americans to commit any crime they want, including murder, without repercussions. It is an opportunity to both let off steam and “cull the herd” unjustly, as some can afford to defend their homes and families against such a rampage … while others cannot.

The horror franchise is fictional, of course, as no elected official in their right mind would ever enact such a law. At least, that’s what I believed.

The unbelievable will soon happen in my home state of Illinois. On Jan. 1, 2023, at midnight, a very real version of “The Purge” will be enacted via the 2021 SAFE-T Act law. The Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today Act will completely eliminate cash bail for the majority of defendants charged with criminal acts. Judges will decide whether or not to release defendants on a case by case basis, based on if they feel a person poses a threat to the community or is a flight risk. Seeing as many Illinois judges rule like progressive activists, it’s likely they will send many criminals back into communities without hesitation. 

We’re not talking about nonviolent crimes like, say, jumping a railway turnstile or even stealing food from the grocery store. This will be no bail or automatic detainment for second-degree murder. Kidnapping. Armed robbery. Drug-induced homicide. Aggravated DUI.

Hardened criminals, charged with everything from threatening a public official to armed burglary to arson, will be emboldened and empowered.

Billionaire Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed the new law into effect in February under the guise of “Criminal Justice Reform.”

To make matters worse, offenders released on electronic monitoring devices must be in violation of their parole for 48 hours before it will be considered a crime. In the state’s largest county — Cook County, which encompasses Chicago — at any given time, there are more than 3,000 people wearing ankle monitors. This includes about 100 who have been charged with murder.

Chicago’s ankle-monitor program is the largest in the nation and is billed as an alternative to incarceration. More than 75% of those being electronically monitored face violent crime charges. The new law gives all of these criminals a 48-hour pass and means they will have the legal freedom to perhaps murder the witnesses of their crime, and the police cannot respond to their ankle monitor alert for 48 hours. I can hear those “Purge” sirens wailing already.

On the streets, Sheriff Campbell isn’t expecting folks to show up for court dates, either.  Then again, under the new law, police can’t get an arrest warrant for missing the first court date. The court will send out a letter setting a new court date and asking “pretty please” for the defendant to appear. Again.

This all began in 2017. That’s when the Illinois General Assembly passed an “Affordable Bail” law which dramatically lowered pre-trial bail amounts. Gone are the days of serious bail amounts for serious crimes.

Today, those arrested for most crimes are released on little or no bail. Yes, sometimes they are sentenced to home confinement, but few have to post more than a few hundred bucks to gain their freedom until their court date.

That program has proven itself an unmitigated failure. In Chicago alone so far this year, police have identified 43 bad guys out on “affordable bail” for felony crimes who have shot (or set afire) 80 innocent victims. Nineteen of those victims have died. Across the state, those released on affordable bail have gone on to commit tens of thousands of new crimes, up to and including murder while on pre-trial release.

In a state where anti-gun legislators love to promote further gun control by tugging at the heartstrings with comments like, “If it saves just one life,” we all see a conspicuous lack of action and remedying this bad “affordable bail” legislation.

But instead of fixing it, the General Assembly doubled down on stupid by eliminating cash bail for all arrestees unless they pose a specific threat to a specific individual.

Flanked by lawmakers and supporters, Gov. J.B. Pritzker picks up the nearly 800-page criminal justice reform bill after signing it into law during a ceremony at Chicago State University on the South Side, Monday, Feb. 22, 2021. (Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

So, for example, if a couple have a domestic and one slaps the other, the aggressor stays in jail until trial. If the domestic violence escalates and the aggressor kills his or her spouse, then he (or she) is no longer a threat to a specific (living) person and therefore must be released. Without bail.

This is what passes for logic in Illinois.

Yes, there’s some weasel language in the bill that allows a prosecutor to petition a judge to hold someone by getting creative about threats against specific persons, but there are a lot of hoops to to through to make that happen, all of which must be completed within 48 hours. Smaller state’s attorneys aren’t going to have the time to handle these sorts of petitions on top of their existing workloads.

Even better, the law is retroactive. So, on January 1st at 12:01 AM, county jails will release just about everyone being held on bail.

Governor J.B. Pritzker says the new law protects new mothers from getting held in county jail because they can’t post bail after stealing some diapers. Sheriff Campbell took a question from an audience member asking how many new mothers they arrest for shoplifting diapers.

Campbell laughed. “Never. Not a one. And even if we did make an arrest, we would never take them to jail. As it is now, we release virtually all non-violent offenders as it is, and the courts release some others, too.”

Illinois State Police

The lawman also spoke about the Illinois State Police’s history of revocation of FOID Cards without due process. They contacted him and offered his department some grant money to seize revoked and expired FOID cards along with those individuals’ guns. Campbell laughed. “I told them they could keep their money. We’re not doin’ it.”

Sangamon County (IL) Sheriff Jack Campbell at the Guns Save Life meeting in SCHEELS in Springfield, IL. Image by Boch.

“We’re here for you,” Cambell said. And he and the men and women of his department profoundly appreciate the support of the community in general and gun owners in particular.

“I’m just a temporary occupant in this office,” Sheriff Campbell told the audience. “But the people I hire and promote are my legacy.”

As for the no cash bail law, he implored folks to contact their legislators and urge them to repeal the new law.

 

64 COMMENTS

  1. Pritzker looks like he , or his heart, might explode at any moment. Yikes!
    They are trying to out-California California.

    • Pritzker, the man is one slice of bacon away from a major heart attack. That is unless one of the newly freed ‘no bail’ criminals gets him first.

      • The Libertarians the Liberals and the Left have been working with governor Pritzker on the most important legislation that the voters of the state of Illinois have ever seen.
        Congratulations on being successful in your efforts. Now please stay in the state of Illinois. Do not move to any other state. You now have the most important thing in your life made legal.
        Enjoy it.

        “Illinois became the 11th state to legalize recreational marijuana for adult use, after Gov. J.B. Pritzker in June signed the bill into law that takes effect today.”

        https://www.illinoispolicy.org/what-you-need-to-know-about-marijuana-legalization-in-illinois/

  2. Pretty sure people in that State will be arming up as best they can, legally or illegally. They’d be really stupid not to.

    • They have legalized robbery and called it belief
      They have run with the money and hid like a thief
      Rewritten history with their armies and their crooks
      Invented memories and did burn all the books

      with apologies to Dire Straits Brothers in Arms.

      • ….pass the word
        , it’s a call to arms
        Midnight man at your door
        Blackened faces, run in the night
        daybreak under the floor

        Bring my bow, fill my head with flame
        Let the children know
        that the torch is lit again
        Crystallize the pain behind your eyes
        are you ready to fight? …

        Mike Rutherford, with no apology

    • Fortunately, next door Indiana has fairly lax/reasonable gun purchase laws. I let my FOID expire, so I’m heading over there soon.

    • Yes. Our Winnebago county board passed a resolution to defy the new purge law. We are near Chicago. We expect increasing numbers of criminals to come here during their 48 hours of freedom every 48 hours. We must fortify our defenses.

  3. Another issue about this “no cash bail” is that many of these most hardened criminals might leave the state and head elsewhere to commit crimes against other innocent victims. “WE THE PEOPLE” must fight back against these STUPID LIBERAL LEGISLATORS! This is all part of a plan by a political faction to bring our country to it’s knees, so they can take over and make us all “slaves to the state”!

    • Brad,

      I was going to post a similar sentiment.

      At first blush, I figured that this was only a disaster for Illinois. Then it occurred to me that released accused criminals could drive to neighboring states and attack innocent victims there as well.

      The good people of Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Kentucky, and Indiana better get ready.

  4. So lemme understand this…
    If a Citizen kills a dirt bag, they:

    1) Go To Jail, go DIRECTLY to Jail
    2) Get Out for $200
    3) Do NOT Go To Jail, Collect $200

    It seems Pritzker plays Monopoly.

  5. This is the way they want it so this is the way they get it.

    Stop letting the dependent mass of urban degenerates run your state. Once a city reaches a certain size it should be expelled from the state and left to its own devices.

  6. 2 years to let crime spike until the next National election.

    Perfect… 🙂

  7. VERY AMUZED THANKS ON MONOPOLY COMMENT … HOWEVER … WHEW CAN’T FIX STUPID
    … HOPE WHOEVER RELEASED WILL STAY IN THAT STATE …

    NO VACTION PLAN TO VISIT THAT STATE ,,, ILLINOIS FOR FREE THE CRIMINALS … ???

    • Rerun of NY but with a higher starting point re violent criminals. If our history is anything to go by Chicago and related suburbs and medium sized cities and above will see a measurable increase in violent crime. The more rural counties may see an increase from crime tourism but in most cases goes from practically none to measurable single digit incidents aka worst crime wave in a century.

  8. Illinois is a lot like California. Pretty much everything inside of the Greater Chicago Metropolitan Area is Democrat, and those within that area outnumber the Republicans occupying the rest of the state. As a result, the Legislature is majority Democrat and the Governor’s office is more often than not occupied by a Democrat as well. The only way to get them out of office is to convict them of felony offenses such as bribery, fraud, etc.

    • “The only way to get them out of office is to convict them of felony offenses such as bribery, fraud, etc.”

      No worries, the Lt. Gov. will also get jammed-up with a corruption charge.

      (Instead of turtles, it’s Leftist Scum ™ all the way down… 🙁 )

  9. Sounds to me like no one goes to jail for anything. So what is the point in being a cop in that state?

    This is the lawlessness and chaos that defines anarchy. It really is a place eating itself.

  10. “But we must release our criminals. The United States has too many people locked up compared to other societies.”

    So says the Libertarians Liberals and the Left. They have been saying this for decades now. Proposition 47 in California was just the beginning. The Three L’s simply do not believe in the concept of private property. And they don’t believe in the concept of “Freedom being messy”. They don’t believe in the concept of Liberty.

    Because if they did, they would support punishing people and holding people accountable for the crimes they commit. Which can include execution, as well as the loss of freedom, jail or prison, for criminals. Who should spend in some case years in lock up.

    btw
    I’m sure the television will show you pictures of mostly blacks committing these future crimes. But I would like to thank the mostly White political leadership of the state of Illinois. For writing this law and making it a reality. Because these white people have the soft bigotry of low expectations.

    Because at the end of the day, it’s white Libertarians, white Liberals, and white Leftists who have all made this possible.

  11. Okay, lets give it a few months and see if parts of IL go the way of NYC.
    Also going to wait and see if crime goes up even more so than at current or historical levels.

  12. Sheriff Joe Arpaio in Arizona had a good thing going. He believed that criminals were not in jail to receive free air conditioning and free cable television.
    He believed they should be working. Putting in their free labor to pay off their debt to society. And some of that work even included operating heavy construction equipment such as bulldozers. Which some of the prisoners actually liked to doing. Especially the female prisoners.

    However the Three L’s didn’t like Sheriff Joe’s concept of criminals having to work to pay back their debt to society.

    So now we just let them go. No accountability.

    I wonder how many property owners and their skin color doesn’t matter. I wonder how many of them are going to be prosecuted???
    For using deadly force to defend their private property from being stolen or vandalized.

    • It usually goes to lethal force when the perpetrator not only fails to “cease and desist” but tries to assault the owner too.

    • Sherriff Joe’s best line when a prisoner complained, “If you don’t like it here, don’t come back.”

    • Learning how to operate heavy equipment is a valuable skill, especially in a right to work state, where the unions can’t operate as a guild. High pay, high demand, good for helping people stay on the right and narrow path.

  13. So instead of using a video from San Francisco or Los Angeles or New York City. I’ll be able to use videos from Chicago. In less than three months. Happy New Year 2023.

    The very very soon future of Chiraq.

    “4 smash and grab thieves steal over $2M in Jewelry from Bronx store” video 1 min long
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mk51ysNh4cI

    • And watch as businesses pack and leave when they can no longer afford insurance for the constant robberies and thefts.

      With tax paying business gone, city and state revenues will decline resulting in cuts to services. Give it a few more years and Illinois will look like Detroit statewide.

      • The person who operates our County visitors center is a transplant from Illinois. She told me that several of her neighbors are also from Illinois. I fully expect there will be a mass migration out of the state of Illinois. Over the next three years.

        Just like in California right now. Which is experiencing a huge drop in the state’s population. Because people are moving out by the thousands.

        • Chris T. The only problem is that many of those leaving California and other leftist/liberal controlled states is they bring their political beliefs with them. And try get those same failed policies and agendas implemented in their new state. Ask those in Texas, Arizona, Montana, or Florida about that.

    • Anyone still want to disagree with me that “Use of lethal force in defense of property” should be legalized?

      sorry, Anyone except for Albert Hall or Dacian or their ilk.

  14. The level Overt EVIL emanating from these people making these laws is palpable. Truly Satan is off the leash and having a blast! God help us! Really! The bloodshed coming will be unprecedented! Welcome to the new 1912. Al Capone would be so proud.

      • Well for NOW I live in ILLANNOY. Honestly I don’t think a lot will change. Especially in central & southern ILL. Cops & prosecutors will defy Prickster n Raoul. As ILL hemorrhaging residents accelerates. Bought a Pmag,ammo n batteries for my pistol light today. Fun times😎

  15. No cash bail is a good thing.
    It isnt right that a rich man can walk and a poor man can’t.
    Equal justice for all.
    Oh my they are letting criminals out of jail. Yep that happens and if people think a 1000 let out or locked up is going to make any difference on crime it wont.
    Bad guys are everywhere and the numbers are growing.
    What needs to happen is law enforcement steps down and let’s the vigilante ride.

    • It will be “The Purge”, but it will be criminals getting purged while LEOs sit back and munch the donuts.

  16. I am amazed that the people of Chicago vote for this.
    It is common sense that being soft on crime encourages criminals.
    Thank God that Desantis declared Florida a law and order state and warned criminals about armed homeowners

  17. Sheriff Cambell has the right to an opinion but Sheriff Cambell does NOT make the law and by commenting in this way he is showing prejudice that may effect his judgement. . The LEGISLASTURE that passed this law can be voted out in the next election. Apart fromthat I cannot zsee that it will make the slighest difference to violent crime figures.
    Nothing the USA has done so far has hasit? Not imprisonment, not the death penalty ,not the general availability of firearms and not POLICING. As long as firearms are so easily available and all the time the GUN ONWERS od AMERICA fail to realise thay h are bi eing duped with falsehoods by an industry that put profits befofre lives the mayhem will continue and the SHERIFF CAMBELLS of the USA will make not a Monkey’s Nuts worth of a difference.

    • So we should give up and cease trying?

      Most of those who want anarchy will be the victims of the anarchy they desired.

      Dacian, if you are lurking, it will like when the Spartacists clashed with the Freikorps. Training, tactics, and organization will overcome a rabble.

    • What are you talking about? The crime rate plummeted to previously thought impossible rates in the 90s when tough on crime policies were enacted. They have been steadily eroding them ever since as crime has been rising. Oh, and the death penalty has been repeatedly shown to be a large deterrent for murder.

  18. Do a search for Jennifer Pritzker. Just make sure you haven’t just eaten.
    “It” and JB are financially backing tranny crap, promoting and pushing it any way they can.

  19. Pure madness and anarchy all in one. The left is pretending to be Jesus by letting the captives free. Their ‘god’ complex is going to get people killed.

  20. Does the general availability of automobiles cause drunk driving?

    Does the availability of bikinis cause rape?

  21. Will All Defendants Currently in Jail be Freed on Jan. 1?
    Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office says that the bill does not mandate immediate release for those accused of specific felonies and misdemeanors.

    Courts will have the option to release individuals if they find that the defendants do not pose an active threat to the community or to another individual.

    Why is the State Eliminating Cash Bail?
    Proponents of the bill argue that the cash bail system disproportionately impacts minority communities, and that eliminating the practice will help to ensure more equitable outcomes.

    “For far too many people, their assessment was based not on their risk but on the amount that they could afford to pay, so eliminating cash bail makes this about risk and not about poverty,” Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx said.

    According to the Center for American Progress, three out of five individuals in U.S. jails have not been convicted of a crime, and many departments and agencies throughout the state are anticipating that the number of inmates will decrease dramatically when the new policy is implemented.

    https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/no-more-cash-bail-in-illinois-heres-what-we-know-about-the-changes-coming-soon/2939008/

  22. People who are deemed to be dangerous should not get bail. Period.
    Remember that bail is a power of the people against a tyrannical government. It is just to assure that people show up to court. This way, governments cannot simply arrest people they do not like and hold them for trials that never end.

  23. to OldManinAL,
    We closed on a questionable house in North Texas last week and came back to Coward’s Forlornia. Not possible without GI Bill. Glad I waited this long to use it.
    YES, I am bringing my “Liberalism” with me:
    1) I only load FMJ because it functions every time.
    2) Hanoi Jane can have AC or DC in the chair.
    3) Public Executions for kidnappers.
    4) Shoot a Crooked Lawyer, TEN DOLLAR FINE! No getting out of it…
    5) Treat others fair and kindly.
    6) Train, then Volunteer.
    7) Make every situation better than what you found it, just ‘cause you were there.
    8) My faith is in God, His Loving Son, and the Spirit that He has sent to guide us.

    AL, I feel strongly that the Utopifornia Libtards who demanded all the crap that surrounds me here can stew in their own diarrhea, up to their chins. The damage they have dreamed up is starting to stink so bad, you can’t breathe here.
    We are moving there because of the PEOPLE. They are like me.
    God has CERTAINLY Blessed Texas, and I will neither sully nor detract from it.

  24. There is another bad part of the SAFE-T act. That is the demoting of trespassing to a ticketed offense. So imagine this: you come home and there is a stranger in your easy chair. You may ask him to leave, but he is not required to comply. The police cannot drag him out because they can only give him a ticket. Will they even bother showing up? Doubtful. Illinois does not have the castle doctrine, so you can’t shoot him simply for being in your house.
    Real estate values will plummet when the citizens realize their property cannot be defended. Get out now.
    I foresee a run on plastic sheeting and duct tape at the Home Depot.

    • As long as there’s a knife in his hand when the police get there, you weren’t shooting him for trespassing.

  25. Thank you for kind words, Lone Star.
    I have to leave some fine, solid Patriots behind me here. Can’t deny their valor.
    I’m looking forward to meeting all you all, AND finally gaining my freedom. It will take at least a year to move out, but I won’t even glance in the rear view mirror when I leave.

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