Chicago City Wire

House Republican Leader Jim Durkin called on the governor to veto House Bill 3653.

The 700-page bill, Durkin said, is just made up of talking points and concepts. He pointed out that when making revisions, it should be words that have the real meaning which must be interpreted and reviewed by judges and attorneys across the state.

“While we can decry the process of this bill, which was a failure, the real tragedy is the failure of the bill’s substance.” 

Durkin urges that the state should be able to “thoroughly and carefully address police reform and criminal justice reform” which “is the right thing to do.”

“I believe no person should have to live in fear of their government, and we must address those issues; House Bill 3653 doesn’t do it,” he said. 

Durkin criticized that the bill in short, “is a confusing, inoperable and contradictory attempt to reform policing and the criminal justice system” that “lacks clarity and will be unworkable for police, the judiciary, defense attorneys, and prosecutors.”

Eliminating cash bail will have an immediate negative effect on public safety. 

According to Durkin, public safety is the greatest responsibility of the state to its citizens. 

The right thing to do according to Durkin is “sit and go through the actual language and try to find what is the fair and balanced approach to address an important issue: police reform, criminal justice reform. I’ve always been in that mode and I will continue, but this bill does not get it done.”