Sen. Neil Anderson (R-Moline) said that Democrats tried to rush criminal justice reform legislation. | Photo Courtesy of Neil Anderson
Sen. Neil Anderson (R-Moline) said that Democrats tried to rush criminal justice reform legislation. | Photo Courtesy of Neil Anderson
Illinois Sen. Neil Anderson (R-Moline) said a proposed criminal reform package heard by state lawmakers this month would weaken the hand of justice, diminishing the ability for officers to investigate crimes and amending a felony murder rule.
"These proposals are simply outrageous," Anderson said on his webpage.
Anderson's comments came before lawmakers adopted the reform bill on Jan. 13.
"Criminal justice reform should keep people more safe, not less. This package is an insult to the men and women who risk their lives daily to protect us," Anderson said. "Of course, we must hold law enforcement accountable, but this goes well beyond that and will end the profession as we know it and will make us all more vulnerable to criminal acts."
In the final hours of the 101st Legislative Session, the Democratic-led House and Senate approved the sweeping criminal justice reform bill on Jan. 13.
Some of the reforms include doing away with cash bails and requiring officers to wear body cameras. The final version also removed the clause that allowed the state to deny funds to municipalities that don't comply with body camera regulations.
Lawmakers pushed forward with the reform legislation following multiple Black Americans being killed by police officers recently, including the high-profile death of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer and Breonna Taylor, who was shot by police in her Louisville, Kentucky home.
He accused the authors of the package of limiting officers' ability to lead investigations with fewer crimes being solved and less accountability for criminal offenses.
He said that the legislation would also severely limit offenders' detention, putting the community at large at risk.
He also claimed that the state's felony murder law where a person who kills while in the commission of a felony is guilty of first-degree murder would be weakened under the proposal and that the legislation would remove due process protections for police officers.
Cook County earlier in January released a report that said the number of murders in Chicago during 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic spiked by more than 37% over the same period in 2019.
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