Chicago City Wire

As a spike in violent crimes continues ravage the City of Chicago, state Rep. Brad Stephens (R-Rosemont) is calling for Illinoisans to sign a petition to move forward with a repeal of the Illinois Safety, Accountability, Fairness, and Equity-Today Act, or SAFE-T Act. 

Stephens posted about the petition on social media, and shared a link to the petition for those who wished to sign it. He also shared a graphic by Reimagine Illinois that said 346 law enforcement officers from across the country were shot last year, 63 of them were killed, and nine of those officers died in the line of duty in Illinois. It also pointed out that Illinois was responsible for 14% of the total number of law enforcement officers killed in America last year. 

"Crime is rising in Illinois, police officers are under attack, and Democrat policies are making the state less safe," Stephens wrote in a Jan. 21 Facebook post. "It's time to show the men and women of law enforcement that we have their backs and repeal the SAFE-T Act in Illinois."

According to the non-profit journalism organization Injustice Watch, the SAFE-T Act eliminates cash bail by next year, allows people accused of certain crimes the ability to remain out of jail while awaiting trial, and imposes restrictions on Illinois police officers such as regulating use of deadly force, establishing a new process to decertify abusive officers and requiring body cameras. Law enforcement groups and police unions have said the law poses a threat to public safety, but the legislation was supported by Democrats including Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx. 

The Chicago City Wire previously reported that Foxx has dropped all charges against 30% of felony defendants in her first three years on the job. 

According to ABC, there were 797 homicides in Chicago in 2021, which was more than New York or Los Angeles and the most the city has seen since 1996.  The city saw 3,561 shooting incidents in 2021, which was 1,415 more than in 2019.

In the last weekend alone three people were killed in Chicago, including an 8-year-old girl, and another 13 were hurt in shootings, NBC 5 Chicago reported.