Senator Bryant, Representative Severin Host Law Enforcement Roundtable in Mt. Vernon

MT. VERNON, IL - State Representative Dave Severin and State Senator Terri Bryant hosted local law enforcement officials for a legislative roundtable at the Mt. Vernon Police Department on Wednesday. The lawmakers and law enforcement officials held a robust discussion on the impacts of the controversial SAFE-T Act, the end of cash bail and its effects, and the TRUST Act, which makes up Illinois' Sanctuary State policies. The legislators also took input from local law enforcement officials, including Jefferson County Sheriff Jeff Bullard, Marion County Sheriff Kevin Cripps, Mt. Vernon Police Chief Robert Brands, head of the Mt. Vernon Schools Safety Resource Office Program Ryan Weeks, Wayne City Police Chief Jason Settle, and Jeremy Wilton of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.

State Rep. Dave Severin says he was concerned by details he learned of difficulties within the state's Department of Juvenile Justice, and how much strain a lack of resources and capacity has placed on the criminal justice system and the social service system for young offenders.

"We have some minors who are committing heinous crimes, reoffending, trying to be rehabilitated, and then those efforts often fail. Sometimes they are being shipped to Jefferson County, where the schools are unfamiliar with their case and struggle to provide adequate safety protections for the transferring students and the students already attending the school," Severin said. "And then the cycle starts all over again because of this reason or that reason. I am committed to helping our law enforcement officers and our social programs find ways to help solve the problem of juvenile criminal recidivism. We need to work together to make our schools and our communities safer."

Senator Bryant serves on the Illinois Senate's Criminal Law Committee. She says the SAFE-T Act and the TRUST Act have eroded public safety and made law enforcement officers' jobs harder to do.

"We heard stories today of offenders being arrested, released without bail, and reoffending while awaiting trial, sometimes picking up multiple felonies while on pre-trial release," Bryant said. "These are the kinds of issues we warned our colleagues about during the SAFE-T Act debate. We also heard about the manipulation of crime statistics and how onerous FOIA requests from citizens, for-profit entities, and media are overwhelming smaller police departments. Some departments have multiple employees dedicated only to honoring FOIA requests. We are trying to support our law enforcement officers the best we can during very difficult circumstances brought on by irresponsible and unworkable public safety policies."

Severin and Bryant say they will be working to call for joint House and Senate Committee hearings on the topic of Juvenile Justice, the SAFE-T Act, and the TRUST Act to identify legislative solutions to the problems outlined by the law enforcement officials who attended the roundtable discussion.