Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker visited Peoria Wednesday, February 24 to discuss HB 3653, the police reform bill he signed into law on Monday.
The bill was introduced and passed in the legislature Jan. 13, 2021.
His signature on February 22 made Illinois the first state in the nation to abolish cash bail.
On the day he signed, he said, "Opponents of this law, don't want any change, don't believe there is injustice in the system and are preying upon fear of change to lie and fear monger in defense of the status quo."
"All Illinoisans will live in a safer and more justice with this law in the books."
This bill was controversial from the beginning because lawmakers received it hours before they were set to vote on it.
State Senator Neil Anderson said there were some decent ideas in the legislation, but they needed to be debated before the votes were taken. “Law enforcement wasn't brought to the table, local government wasn't brought to the table, State's Attorneys weren't brought to the table. Nobody."
The bill includes 764 pages of policy. You can read the full text of the bill here.
