By John Kass

October 7, 2022

If you sit still and listen quite carefully, you’ll hear some strange sounds coming from Gov. J.B. Pritzker and his Democrat allies about their controversial no-cash bail law (SAFE-T ACT) that will eliminate cash bail statewide in January.

And 100 of 102 county state’s attorneys (prosecutors) in Illinois–both Democrat and Republican prosecutors–and most law enforcement groups have condemned the No-Bail law. They say it was poorly written, rushed through the legislature without much debate in the wee hours of the morning and dangerous, mandating the release of violent criminal offenders out onto the streets.

It is bad law, bad policy and absolutely terrible politics.

Those who dare criticize this ill-conceived and dangerous policy are likely to be condemned by Democrats as racists throwing the race card as a weapon, even though most victims of violent crime are overwhelmingly black or brown.

Voters are rightfully concerned about the national increase in violent crime and chaos in urban areas. In Cook County, add to that the indifference of count judges  who keep on releasing violent offenders on low or no bail or on  electronic monitoring which allows them to kill, shoot or attempt to shoot more victims.

The chaos and anarchy plagues  just about everyone in the state except perhaps for indifferent newspaper editors, left wing pundits and social justice progressives who push this lunacy at the expense of crime victims and the law-a biding citizen. Meanwhile, the establishment corporate legacy media continues their hunt for heretics.

 So, what about those sounds I mentioned, those sounds made by Pritzker and his Democrats with the November elections only weeks away?

For years I’ve been telling you to listen for what a politician doesn’t say, what they avoid. The thing unspoken is often the important part, but it tells you a great deal.

Those sounds come from a place far in the back of the throat, part of speech used by hostages or other victims to communicate submission and a desire to avoid pain.  It’s also similar to the sound made by a catfish flopping in the bottom of your boat.

It is the sound of politicians blowing smoke, of Pritzker and his Democratic supermajority trying to stall, to blow smoke and confuse voters in order to get safely past the November election.

Pritzker is now telling reporters that he may like to “clarify” elements of the bill , but only after the November election.  That’s the point. He makes those reasonable sounds in his throat—whether fish or human I’ll let voters decide–but all he and other Democrats are doing is blowing smoke to get him past the November election.

The governor suggested he was interested in examining proposals from State Sen Scott Bennett, a Democrat and former prosecutor.

“I haven’t gone through every provision he has proposed,” said Pritzker, of “clarifications” offered by Bennett who  “is somebody who is very careful in the way he approaches issues like this and I’m always open to working with people who are rational and reasonable in their proposals.”

You’re always open to working with rational and reasonable people? First, stop the smoke boiling from your mouth, nose and ears.

Pritzker and other Democrats know they’ve got a Safe-t Act problem with voters. But they’re not calling for a special session to repeal the No Cash Bail law. Instead, they talk vaguely of clarifications they might apply, but later. They must think the voters of Illinois are truly idiots, fools and chumbolones.

Will voters fall for it? Are they that eager for Pritzker to blow smoke at them?

Most reasonable people in Illinois don’t think non-violent offenders should be denied bail. But they don’t want repeat violent offenders released on low or no bail to await trial. Given what we’ve seen with repeat offenders eventually arrested on murder and aggravated assault charges, waiting isn’t logical. The only reasonable thing to do is for Pritzker to call a special session before the election and repeal the bill and toss it in the garbage.

Then after the November election, they can all get back to work and hammer out their bill in full public view.

Who voted for this monstrosity?  Here is the Illinois Senate vote. And here is the Illinois House vote. You can click on the links to read how your legislator voted. Is it too much to expect people to print out the list for themselves? Perhaps I’ll just have to write another full column listing the names of state lawmakers who are now so busy blowing smoke at voters. But later.

State Sen. Darren Bailey, the conservative Republican running for governor, wants a repeal. I agree. It’s the only way.

“ If I were governor right now and If I were sitting here and people across this state were as concerned as they are about their safety, I’d call a special session right now,” Bailey was quoted as saying. “It’s an election year Gov. Pritzker. You’ve got a perfect opportunity to have a little political ploy here. Call session back in and let’s talk and come up with solutions.”

How could Pritzker and Democrat lawmakers get away with all their smoke blowing? That’s easy: As long as the media carries Democrat water, the politicians can blow all the smoke they want. They’d be foolish not to. If not for the constant megaphone of corporate legacy media, where would Illinois Democrats be? They’d be lost. And sad.

And those who stand up and rightfully condemn the No Bail law run the risk being called a bigot, an almost racist (or that “racist adjacent”) by Pritzker and his minions in the press.

It’s happening to conservative radio talk show host Dan Proft, host of The Morning Answer radio show on WIND AM 560 and president of a pro-Bailey political action committee, “People Who Play By The Rules PAC.”

Proft has been hounded mercilessly and slandered by establishment media for his conservative views expressed in a series of newspapers he has an interest in, and his devastatingly spot-on ads he’s recently done, including the classic known as “The Scream.”

His critics complain he doesn’t champion their brand of “objective” journalism. But that’s ridiculous. And insulting to readers who actually read history. There hasn’t been “objective” reporting in American journalism since before the election of 1800, when Thomas Jefferson hired a journalist hit man named Thomas Callender to portray John Adams in this fashion:

As “a hideous hermaphroditical character which has neither the force and firmness of a man, not the gentleness and sensibility of a woman.”

Speaking of “objectivity,” don’t local news outlets avoid mentioning the influence that leftist billionaire George Soros has had in helping elect soft-on-crime prosecutors, including Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx?

And I seem to recall mainstream newspapers avoiding (and suppressing) that Hunter Biden laptop from hell story before the last presidential election. Now news is breaking that the feds have a corruption case against the president’s son. What will “objective” journos do about the mess they left on the carpets?

Despite the absurd and petty media characterizations, Proft is a gentleman. But he does have one serious flaw that corporate media can’t forgive. He refuses to kneel or beg them for mercy, and they hate him for it. They’ve hated him for years.

 Former Tribune pundit David Greising—also a gentleman and former colleague –had personally slammed Proft in a Tribune op-ed. It was part of larger effort, the corporate legacy media’s anti-Proft pro-Pritzker frenzy.  I have no doubt that Pritzker relished the attacks on Proft.

But the other day, Greising made the mistake of confronting Proft in debate. Big mistake.

I’m including the link for your edification.

As you’ll hear in their exchange, Proft also demonstrates manners. Not the unctuous manner of the backslapper, but the cold, formal manner of the duelist at dawn. David has always been decent to me personally, but if he had asked  whether he should meet Proft near the windmills or on the radio to defend his personal attacks on Dan, I would have told David to run.

It’s one thing to be part of large pack of establishment journos baying for conservative pelts. And it’s quite another  to be out on the trail alone, still chasing the wolf, when the wolf stops abruptly and turns.

It reminded me of one of my favorite films that isn’t exactly a rom com: Ridley Scott’s “The Duellists.”

And as Proft dispatched poor Griesing, the way Harvey Keitel skewered the arrogant nephew of the mayor of Strasbourg, I thought of a line from that movie that kick started another series of duels.  “I say he never loved the emperor!”

And the smoke hangs over Illinois, with vague hints about the legislature perhaps revisiting the SAFE-T ACT to “clarify” some things, but after the election not before. And once the election is over, they don’t have to do a damn thing.

It’s all about distraction to get the Democrats SAFE-LY past the election.

Distraction of the smoke, distraction of journos going after those who stand up to Pritzker, those who demand “objective” journalism when their own outlets are anything but.

They might as well distract us with free mugs of good rum, so we might wager on how many rats the Manchester Terrier will finish off in the rat pits as they did in the olden days.

The SAFE-T Act was rushed into law by Democrats and their supermajority in the legislature. There was little debate. Most Democrats who voted for  it in the wee hours—and only Democrats voted for this law—didn’t even bother to read the 700 plus page bill or grasp the consequences. But with rising crime now as a potent political issue in Illinois, I suppose they’re beginning to grasp the consequences.

It was a power deal from Pritzker and his new House Speaker Chris Welch and as a gift to Welch’s Illinois Black Caucus. And a gift to Cook County Board President (and Democrat Cook County chair)Toni Preckwinkle and her protégé Kim Foxx. It was also something of a peace offering to Black Lives Matters from the Illinois Democrats, for the riots that energized the Democrat 2020 vote but also burned and ruined downtown Chicago.

For years I’ve been telling you to listen carefully to politicians, to what they say and most important, what they avoid saying. The thing unspoken is the important part. And now the unspoken part involves smoke.

They’re blowing it in your face, Illinois. In your eyes, up your nose, in your hair, your ears, wherever. You can’t see for the smoke. And if you complain about Pritzker, or his No Cash bail law, “objective” journalists may characterize you as being too “extreme.”

There’s one way to stop them. Those of you still in Illinois, you have to vote, to prove to them you’re not idiots, or chumbolones.

The vote is the only thing they respect and understand. That and the use of smoke.

 

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(Copyright 2022 John Kass)