New York Offers a Scary Preview of What's to Come for Illinois

The New York State Legislature abolished cash bail for most misdemeanor and non-violent offenses in 2019. The Illinois State Legislature followed suit in the dead of night last year, and Governor Pritzker signed the [un]SAFE-T Act into law, abolishing cash bail for most non-violent offenses effective January 1st, 2023. What does this hold for the future of crime in our state?

Since going into effect in January 2020, New York’s bail reform law has led to an unprecedented massive rise in crime, violent reoffenders, and accused criminals skipping trial.

According to the New York Post in February, “Nearly every single city police precinct has seen spikes in crime so far this year — including five in which the rate has doubled.”

Meanwhile, as a direct result of the new bail law, 20.1% of “felony arraignments” were rearrested in 2021, with 16.1% failing to appear at arraignment. These stats could indicate an even more grim future on the horizon for Chicago which has already seen a 38% spike in crime since this time last year and recently passed the grim threshold of 500 homicides so far this year.

Just this Friday, “An accused jilted madman who flew into an ax-wielding rage at a Lower East Side McDonald’s was released without bail at his arraignment,” according to the New York Post. “Michael Palacios, 31, who allegedly grabbed an ax and trashed the Delancey Street fast-food joint in a fit early Friday, was arraigned on fourth-degree criminal-mischief and possession-of-weapons charges hours later and freed, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said. Neither charge is eligible [to be retained in custody] for bail under the state’s lenient criminal-justice reforms.”

“Public safety is on the ballot this November. This election is all about what kind of state we want to be. Do we want to be a state that prioritizes public safety and condemns criminal behavior? Or do we want to continue to be a state that coddles criminals as businesses and families flee for safer pastures? The choice this November could not be more clear,” said Illinois Republican Party Chairman Don Tracy.