Election 2024: State Rep. 76th District candidates on SAFE-T Act

DeKALB – Four candidates seeking their party’s nomination to be 76th District state representative attended a forum to stump their campaigns for the second time this week, this time sharing their views on the SAFE-T Act.

A virtual candidates forum Thursday was co-hosted by the League of Women Voters of DeKalb County and WNIJ, a northern Illinois arm of Northern Public Radio, and featured six candidates from three different primary races.

The full forum can be viewed on WNIJ’s Facebook page.

The first to take the online stage were Cohen Barnes, Amy “Murri” Briel and Carolyn “Morris” Zasada – all Democrats hoping to replace state Rep. Lance Yednock, D-Ottawa, who decided he would not seek reelection in the 76th District in 2024.

Liz Bishop and Crystal Loughran are running as Republicans. Loughran did not attend Thursday’s forum.

The 76th District covers La Salle, Bureau and DeKalb counties, including Ottawa, La Salle, Peru, DeKalb, Spring Valley and Ladd.

Among other topics, all three Democratic candidates were asked their opinions about the SAFE-T Act, part of which went into effect in September and prohibits cash bail in Illinois.

Views on SAFE-T Act

Briel, Yednock’s chief of staff, said she believes some clarifications may need to be made to the SAFE-T Act.

“I believe that the SAFE-T Act did some great things for our communities as well as for safety; however, I do think that there are still some issues that need to be addressed, even with the amendment,” Briel said. “I’ve heard from many folks who are dispatchers, police officers, social workers, court circuit clerks who are all feeling as if things have been – they’re inundated without the support they need in order to execute the legislation the way it was intended.

“I also believe that there’s some clarifications that need to occur in some of the offenses for which penalties for staying get clarified and then disseminated. I think one of the things we see with a lot of legislation is that it applies in certain areas of the state but creates challenges in other areas, regardless, because we’re a very diverse community.

“So I think that the best part is being able to go back and take a look at things that aren’t working, listening to the stakeholders, the folks dealing with this on a daily basis, and then be able to make some more tweaks.”

Barnes, DeKalb’s mayor and a U.S. Army veteran, said he’s heard from law enforcement officials on how to tweak the bill but believes the legislation is a first step toward tearing down systemic racism in the state.

“The SAFE-T Act was brought forth out of a specific and, ultimately, a great need when we think of all the people in our system, essentially that are from a marginalized population when you look at the systemic racism that we have within the state of Illinois and in our judicial system, and in the way we were policing,” Barnes said. “I thought it was a great first step going forward.

“The heart everyone had in the spirit of the SAFE-T Act was there, and there was need for great change. The first revision, as those phases rolled out, it became apparent that the way the legislation was written that there were going to be challenges, as well as when you talk to boots on the ground – which we did in the city of DeKalb to our officers – in enforcing some of the language and the lack of clarity that there was.

“And I know the state’s attorneys. I’m on the board of directors for the Illinois Municipal League, and we heard from all the state’s attorneys and chiefs of police about problems within the language itself. The spirit was there. We wanted to make that change but clear, [and] more clarification was needed.

“And I think it’s wonderful that our state legislator has listened to the population, has listened to all of our stakeholders, and amendments and changes keep going forward with the SAFE-T Act in order to find it in a way where its original intent can be executed at the highest level.”

Zasada, who is in her second term representing the 1st Ward on the DeKalb City Council, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and real estate agent, said she believes the legislation has made the state safer.

“The SAFE-T Act is far from perfect, but it’s a step in the right direction,” she said. “It’s lowered the number of people who are incarcerated based on their socio-economic status, which is a success. Crime has also marginally gone down recently.

“Although we’re not near the level of public safety, that should be our goal. I would work to hire more police officers, as we have in the city of DeKalb, and expand law enforcement resources so courts have the facts necessary to make the right decision.

“I’ve heard claims that the act lets violent criminals roam free, but in cases of serious or violent offenses, the judge is able to refuse bail under any condition. But poor mental health is also closely tied to criminal activity, and police officers are often stuck doing the work of mental health professionals.

“So I also support making sure we have more social workers in our police departments as well.”

Bishop, who is seeking the Republican nomination for the 76th District, was not asked her opinion of the SAFE-T Act on Thursday night. Instead, she was given two minutes to speak about her platform because her opponent in the March primary election, Loughran, did not participate in the forum.

“I am a mom, a businesswoman and an Illinoisan who is tired of the bad policies coming out of Springfield,” Bishop said. “Growing up in Illinois and raising my family here, the values that were important in our household included service, integrity, respect and standing up for what is right professionally.

“I’ve been in banking and finance and AED startups to success. I’ve contributed to our community, especially in schools and the arts. I am running for state representative because we need a new voice in Springfield who will advocate for lower taxes, better economic opportunities, access to good health care and ending the sanctuary state status of Illinois.

“Illinois needs to thrive economically to preserve the freedoms we all value. We must get property taxes under control, lower inflation and bring down the cost of living for families.

“I will fight for affordable, accessible health care. The recent closings of two hospitals in our district have taught us some very hard lessons. I will support legislation to address health care disparities, and I will fight to ensure that our community’s health care needs are met.”