(Lake County, IL) State's Attorney Eric Rinehart was credited by several state officials Wednesday for his advocacy in supporting the state's new criminal justice reform law as Gov. J.B. Pritzker made a stop in Waukegan to discuss the measure. 

The governor made an early afternoon appearance at the Waukegan Park District's Field House Sports, Fitness & Aquatics Center, one of several stops across the state where, along with legislators and advocates, he praised the historic new law. 

The law, known as The SAFE-T Act, includes the elimination of cash bail as a method of pre-trial release, mandates use of body-worn cameras for all police departments and calls for the preservation of police misconduct records. 

"As we all know, Lake County has been ground zero for wrongful convictions for two decades," State's Attorney Rinehart said. "The SAFE-T Act gives me and other prosecutors the tools we need to eliminate the injustices of the past by requiring transparency and accountability in all parts of the legal system." 

Rinehart said that "For those in our under-served neighborhoods, this bill helps our elected leaders and law enforcement commanders make sure the police are respecting everyone's personal dignity and constitutional rights by mandating body cameras, by preserving law enforcement records and by expanding the misconduct database." 

The law also expands de-escalation training for law enforcement officers and increases the connection between mental health and substance abuse providers and first responders, Rinehart said has said, all of which he said will make both the streets and the criminal justice systems safer and fairer "for all communities." 

Rinehart said the elimination of cash bail will make all communities more safe, because defendants of wealth who are deemed dangerous by judges will not be able to buy their way out of jail while those being held on lesser charges sit in the jailhouse due to economic factors. 

Pritzker said the change was overdue. 

"We say we want justice, but for a long time, pre-trial detention was a matter of how poor you are, not how dangerous you are," the governor said. 

"Wealth-based bond systems do not work," Rinehart said. "We need to be talking about safety and flight risk, not about dollars and cents when it comes to these important decisions. People should be held in jail prior to trial only if the judge finds them to be dangerous, not because they happen to be poor." 

Just three months into his first term in public office, Rinehart's advocacy for the bill, led to positive comments Wednesday, including the governor referring to him as "the great state's attorney of Lake County." 

State Senator Elgie Sims and Representative Justin Slaughter, leaders within the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus, tipped a hat to Rinehart as well. 

Representative Slaughter said that as he engaged in discussions over the proposed bills with other legislators, they would frequently reply that they had just got off the phone with State’s Attorney Rinehart. 

The State’s Attorney said the reforms contained in the new law “are critical to increasing safety for the survivors of crime.” 

“I support this bill because the most accomplished and respected victim advocate groups, including the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence, urged legislators to finally stop the turnstile that allowed abusers to pay bond, and attack again,” Rinehart said.