NW Illinois News

Sen. Brian Stewart echoed concerns shared by law enforcement officials regarding parts of Illinois's recent criminal justice reform bill.

Stewart — a former county sheriff's sergeant for Stephenson County — expressed his opposition to the bill while alleging that several provisions are an attack on law enforcement and make local communities more susceptible to crime and violence.

The Republican's comments mirror many others within the GOP Party and came a few days before lawmakers adopted the reform legislation.

"We should renew our commitment to the police officers who put their lives on the line every day to serve and protect, and not use recent actions at violent protests and scenes of criminal activity as an excuse to overhaul our criminal justice system," Stewart said in a release.

The protests in question refer to the Black Lives Matter rallies held across the U.S. in response to police officers' killing Black Americans and calls for social justice.

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.

"Yes, there are police officers whose actions have cast a dark shadow on a very honorable profession," Stewart said. "Changes are needed to address those bad actors, who are the exception to the rule, but dramatically altering the system is not the answer."