Illinois ‘Purge’ law creating ‘criminals paradise’ mom of shooting victim says as murderers could be freed without bail

THE political lightning rod nicknamed the "Purge Law" on social media "creates a criminal's paradise" and "jeopardizes everyone," a shooting victim's mom said.

The Illinois legislation, which is officially titled the SAFE-T Act (Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today), is a sweeping, state-wide justice reform law that will end cash bail, among other changes.

After the bail provision takes effect on January 1, 2023, Illinois will be the first state to abolish cash bail, which Joy Dobbs said is "the most disgusting thing she's ever heard".

Dobbs' son Dakotah Earley, 23, was nearly killed in May when he was shot during a robbery on his way home from 7-11 to get chips and a drink.

Since then, he's had multiple surgeries, including a part of his leg amputated (GoFundMe), and came home from the hospital this week.

The alleged shooter Tyshon Brownlee, 19, was arrested and charged with attempted murder and armed robbery.

Prosecutors said he was allegedly driving a stolen car at the time of the ambush and was charged with four more counts of armed robbery in connection with four separate incidents.

If this crime happened after the bail reform section of the SAFE-T Act went into effect, prosecutors would need to prove the suspect "poses a specific, real and present threat to any person or the community" to keep the defendant in jail before the trial.

Then it's up to the judge's discretion.

Dobbs told The U.S. Sun in an exclusive interview that the law only protects criminals and ignores law-abiding citizens like her son.

"I feel like they're creating a criminal's paradise, and I have no idea why they would sign this into law," she said. "It jeopardizes everyone in Illinois.

"And the crimes seem to get worse and worse (for repeat offenders). The man who shot my son was involved in carjackings but he was still out on the street.

"Right now, there's no enjoying yourself because you're worried someone is trying to attack you."

There's also a real fear that victims' families will turn into vigilantes out of frustration.

"I've had a lot of family and friends who were ready to take out my son's shooter," Dobbs said. "They're like, if the police and the law can't take care of it, we will.

"So now we're all going to be running around shooting each other. And then who gets in trouble?"

THE SAFE-T ACT DIVIDE

Supporters and opponents of the law have generally been divided along political party lines.

Many Republicans have argued that it will increase the number of crimes; while Democrats argue the current bail system discriminates against people of color.

Rhetoric for and against the law - particularly the upcoming change to the state's bail system - has been spewed all over social media.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker addressed the law's opponents in a Wednesday morning tweet.

"Misinformation spreads like wildfire, and there are ugly lies making the rounds about the SAFE-T Act," he said.

"This law does not mandate the release of defendants or create 'non-detainable offenses.' Defendants are eligible for pre-trial release based on their risk, not their bank accounts. Learn more."

Rachel Mast, a Hancock County prosecutor, said in January 2021 that 100 of the 102 county prosecutors opposed the bill.

Illinois State's Attorneys Association said in a previous statement that it "will profoundly undermine public safety and overturn long-standing common-sense policies and practices in the criminal justice system."

Dobbs said ending bail reform and the arguments in favor of it is "a bunch of BS."

"They're putting police in their own handcuffs. It doesn't protect anyone," she said. "If you don't break the law, you don't have to worry about bail."

BACKGROUND OF THE SAFE-T LAW

The 800-page legislation was signed into law in February 2021.

Parts of the law are already in effect, while other pieces will continue to be rolled out in stages over the next few years.

Under this law, all police departments in the state will be outfitted with body cameras by 2025 and have gone through reformed police training with updated use-of-force standards.

The legislation has been debated and amended a couple times since its inception, but it recently grabbed national headlines after armchair pundits on social media compared it to "The Purge" movies.

The topic has become a rallying cry for both political parties ahead of November's midterm elections.

TRACKING THE EFFECTS

A few cities across the US have implemented various degrees of bail reform, but this law is the most drastic because it includes violent crimes like murder and is statewide.

Loyola University of Chicago and the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (state’s statistical analysis center) "will conduct a mixed methods process and impact evaluation of pretrial reforms established by the SAFE-T Act."

In a joint statement about the evaluation, they said the goal is threefold:

"(One) understand the system-wide impact of bail reforms on bond court decisions, pretrial release practices, and work routines of different justice system actors;

"(Two) test the hypothesis that elimination of monetary bail can result in no changes in failures to appear and new criminal activity of defendants released pretrial.

"And (three) evaluate whether bail reform in Illinois is cost effective."