North Egypt News

With violent crime rates on the rise across most of Illinois, state Rep. Dave Severin (R-Benton) is pushing for a unified front as the answer.

“Everybody in this committee knows that we have philosophical differences on certain items and challenges and those types of things, but I figured the items of crime and violence have got to be addressed and they're very, very concerning," Severin said during the Jan. 18 committee hearing with the House Judiciary-Criminal Committee.

Republican lawmakers blame the uptick in crime on the Democrats' Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today Act which calls for a new process for decertifying abusive police officers, body cameras for all officers and a no-cash bail system for non-violent offenders, among other measures.

“A long time ago, they made Ten Commandments,” Severin said. “That didn’t fix things. So I realize that just because we legislate something doesn’t mean that it’s gonna fix a problem. I think we can work with all the different players ... in the community, and work towards the answers to these challenges and problems.”

Severin said the work has to start now.

“I look forward to us looking back someday and realizing that we have made some great strides in the state of Illinois, and there's been a change of heart on people, and we're doing rehabilitation with people's minds and hearts both,” he said. “So, again, I look forward to working with you and I think collaboration is a great word if we will use it on both sides of the aisle, to take the opportunity to work together.”