Senator Chapin Rose (R-Mahomet) released the following statement following the Governor signing HB3653:
“Governor Pritzker just made it easier for criminals to get away with the crimes they commit and avoid arrest – all with one stroke of his pen. This will embolden criminals across the state, take officers off the street, and likely raise property taxes as well. If Pritzker wanted to give people a few more reasons to move out of state, then it’s ‘mission accomplished.’”
“As the Illinois Sheriff’s Association has pointed out, under this new law, police could no longer be able to remove a trespasser from your back yard—they can only issue a ticket and politely ask them to leave -but cannot actually remove them. If God forbid there is a school shooter and he leaves the scene, police can’t arrest him if he resists, simply because they could arrest him at a different time. Seriously? It boggles my mind how anyone can think this is a good idea. Look, we all can see the need for some well thought out reforms to our criminal justice system, but that doesn’t mean we should immediately go out and make our state less safe, which is exactly what Pritzker’s stamp of approval just did. I truly hope and pray that no citizen or police officer is injured or killed because of this ill-advised, poorly-drafted legislation; but, unfortunately, that is exactly what is going to happen.”