By Townhall Chicago News Staff
Bob Fioretti, the Republican candidate for Illinois attorney general, said during a live radio interview Friday, Oct. 30, that he would seek immediate changes to the state’s SAFE-T Act if elected Nov. 3, arguing that the law limits law enforcement’s ability to detain repeat offenders.
Fioretti, a South Side Chicago native and civil rights attorney, criticized the 2021 law’s pretrial detention provisions, saying they make it difficult for authorities to detain suspects accused of threatening police officers while already on pretrial release.
“Day one, that whole philosophy will change,” Fioretti said. “You can hit a police officer and you can’t detain him under the Safety Act.”
Fioretti cited a case reported by CWB Chicago involving a man arrested on suspicion of threatening to shoot a police officer during a DUI stop while already on pretrial release in connection with similar alleged conduct in 2023.
The SAFE-T Act eliminated cash bail in Illinois and established a system in which judges determine whether defendants should remain in custody before trial based on statutory criteria, including public safety concerns.
Fioretti also criticized Democratic incumbent Attorney General Kwame Raoul over violent crime in Chicago, citing shooting and homicide figures.
“1,600 people have been shot. We’ve had about 375 homicides here in the city and I don’t hear Kwame Raoul saying anything about them,” Fioretti said.
Fioretti brings more than three decades of civil rights law experience to the race. He served as senior supervising attorney in Chicago’s General Litigation Division under Mayor Harold Washington, overseeing more than 500 civil rights cases and personally trying more than 100. He later served as a special assistant attorney general and special assistant state’s attorney in Illinois.
Fioretti entered elected office in 2007 as Chicago’s 2nd Ward alderman. He won re-election in 2011 and served until 2015.
During his campaign for attorney general, Fioretti said he has visited all 102 Illinois counties and received support from rank-and-file Chicago police officers and suburban police chiefs.
He also discussed the electoral challenges facing Republicans in Illinois, estimating that a Republican statewide candidate needs approximately 30% of the vote in Cook County to remain competitive.
Additional information about Fioretti’s campaign is available at BobForIllinois.com.
