EDWARDSVILLE — Madison County State’s Attorney Thomas A. Haine and Sheriff John Lakin on Wednesday announced they’ve filed litigation aimed at protecting county residents from a controversial Illinois law known as the SAFE-T Act. Haine is a Republican and Lakin is a Democrat. The new law, scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, would end the cash bail system in Illinois and severely hamper the ability of local judges to keep dangerous defendants off the streets, according to Haine, Lakin, and dozens of State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs – Democrats and Republicans – across the state. Lakin said, “The bipartisan opposition to the SAFE-T Act is not about politics. It is about public safety. This lawsuit gives our court system an opportunity to properly vet this law where our political branches have failed, and protect the citizens of Madison County from the disaster that is the SAFE-T Act as it is currently written.” “Public safety is not
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