Changes to SAFE-T Act possible, leaders say

Thursday, 15 January 2026

The SAFE-T Act was passed in January 2021, and one of its most controversial aspects is the Pretrial Fairness Act which eliminated cash bail

Instead a judge determines whether to grant a defendant pretrial release.

Democratic leaders have said they are open to some of the changes being suggested by Republican leaders, according to Capitol News Illinois.

Those Republican proposals include making all felonies eligible for detention, as opposed to just violent crimes, allowing a person's pretrial release to be revoked if they commit another crime, not allowing people on home confinement free movement, and creating a presumption that someone should be detained if they committed a crime against a minor.

The act has been under renewed scrutiny after 26-year-old Bethany MaGee was lit on fire, aboard on "L" train, by Lawrence Reed, a man who had been arrested 72 times in the last 30 years and convicted 15 times, including for arson.

At the time of the incident Reed was out on electronic monitoring and was entitled to two days of free movement, due to Reed's detention being denied after he allegedly physically assaulted a nurse.

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