East Central Reporter

Clay County State’s Attorney Phil Givens is applauding the ruling by Kankakee County Chief Judge Thomas W. Cunnington, of the 21st Judicial Circuit Court of Illinois, halting the enforcement of the SAFE-T Act's no-cash-bail provision.

“I decided to join the lawsuit against Governor Pritzker and the other defendants to make sure the people of Clay County were protected to the best of my ability,” Givens said in a press release posted on Facebook by the Clay County GOP. “I swore an oath to uphold the Constitution of the State of Illinois. The pretrial provisions of the Safe T Act, in particular, violated our Constitution and placed the citizens of Clay County in harm’s way. The People of the State of Illinois did not have a voice in this reform and they deserve that opportunity. The General Assembly also attempted to tie the hands of Judges and State’s Attorneys in Illinois based on misguided opinions. Therefore, I am pleased with Judge Cunnington’s ruling and am hopeful our Supreme Court will uphold the same sworn oath taken by each of the Plaintiffs in our lawsuit.” 

The Illinois State Supreme ruled on Dec. 31 - the day before the sweeping criminal justice reform was set to take effect - the law’s implementation should be delayed given rulings in lowers courts, according to CBS Chicago.

Cunnington wrote in his decision, “The administration of the justice system is an inherent power of the courts upon which the legislature may not infringe and the setting of bail falls within that administrative power, the appropriateness of bail rests with the authority of the court and may not be determined by legislative fiat.” 

A group of 65 state’s attorneys banded together to challenge the law in Cunnington’s court. Several others followed suit with mirroring legislation after Cunnington’s ruling. 

“This is a victory for the rule of law, which unfortunately the Illinois General Assembly and the Governor disregarded when passing this ‘solution in search of a problem’ legislation,” McHenry County State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally said, McHenry Times reported. “It is the legislative process, not the criminal justice system, that is broken in Illinois.” 

Kenneally also argued that, “Instead of drafting bail reform in collaboration with actual experts, such as judges, prosecutors, police, and defense attorneys who seek justice in courtrooms every day, the General Assembly and the Governor chose to enact the sophomoric ideas of well-financed activists.”