House Bill 4409 is the newest soft-on-crime initiative ushered in by State Democrats. By changing the use of the word ‘offenders’ to ‘justice-impacted individuals,’ we are diminishing the gravity of committing a crime as well as dismissing the impact it has on victims. Making feel-good semantical changes entirely downplays Illinois’ inability to improve public safety and should be viewed as a slap in the face to victims everywhere.
It is equally disappointing and unsurprising that Illinois Democrats continue to spend their time crafting laws that favor lawlessness. It seems that the irreparable harm caused by cashless bail and other progressive policies was not reason enough for the majority party to right their wrongs and pass legislation that addresses our state’s rising crime rate.