South West Illinois News

Sen. Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro) on Feb. 1 joined her Republican colleagues at a press conference promoting legislation that the lawmakers said will better support police officers.

"As I've listened to my colleagues here talking this morning I just want to remind all of you that in the region where I live just a few months ago, Deputy Sheriff Sean Riley from the Wayne County Sheriff's Department was shot to death when he stopped for what he thought was a distressed motorist," Bryant said, according to the SW Illinois News. "He was shot and then his body was thrown into a ditch. That’s just a few miles away from where my daughter and my grandchildren live and where my son-in-law served as a deputy sheriff for Jefferson County for several years." 

Bryant speculated that her son-in-law and other officers would be hesitant to serve in law enforcement under contemporary conditions. 

"Today I don't know if my son-in-law would ever go back to law enforcement again" Bryant said. "And that's because of the way we treat our law enforcement officers. I stand here today in support of what they do for us and the fact that they put their lives on the line for us. Last January the Democrats pushed through sweeping changes to our criminal justice system. They pushed through those changes in the middle of the night without public or law enforcement input and a year later we can safely say that their ‘my-way-or-the-highway’ approach has failed."

The senator does not believe that officers have enough input in the criminal justice process.

"Our law enforcement officers who put their lives on the line to keep us safe were cut completely out of the process" Bryant said. "The governor and his legislative allies sent a clear signal: the voice of law enforcement were not welcome at the table. We're looking at a 20% vacancy rate at police departments. Some with higher rates, and a few with lower."

Republicans argued that the SAFE-T Act would make conditions worse when it was first passed. House Republicans have also started a petition for voters to sign in support of the bill's repeal.