Illinois Representative Justin Slaughter, who Chairs many of the criminal justice committees in the Illinois House, has found a foolproof way to slow the apprehension of dangerous criminals in Illinois: quit enforcing the law.

I guess since prosecutors and courts here frequently don’t enforce laws, there’s no sense in having them in the first place. At least these lawmakers are being honest about their intentions. But I’m not sure what they will achieve other than chaos.https://t.co/eSCI6dj0lj pic.twitter.com/RhI66VR1X7

— Stuart Loren (@StuLoren) January 30, 2024

Slaughter’s bill would essentially decriminalize much of the Illinois Vehicle Code, presumably because a disproportionate number of traffic stops are of young Black men in the City of Chicago, which he represents.

Slaughter’s aim is not loosening up the traffic laws per se–it is preventing young thugs from being caught for other crimes in the event of a traffic stop. If you are a law-abiding citizen who happens to have windows tinted a bit too much or an expired tag, the stop is a nuisance but not a huge deal. If you are carrying illegal firearms or drugs in your vehicle, it is a huge deal.

So, the real meat of the law is this:

Provides that no evidence discovered or obtained as the result of a stop in violation of these provisions, including, but not limited to, evidence discovered or obtained with the operator's consent, shall be admissible in any trial, hearing, or other proceeding. Preempts home rule powers.

In other words, if a police officer stops you because your windshield is barely transparent because it is crazed with cracks, your bumper is falling off, and your headlights don’t work, you are immunized from prosecution if he discovers you are holding a thousand pills of fentanyl during the stop.

I’m pretty sure the prosecution might find a workaround if, in the course of the stop, a dead body was found in the back seat, but technically speaking, that, too, would be excluded evidence. Smart.

Lest you think this is just some throwaway from a backbencher trying to impress his primary voters, you should see Slaugter’s committee assignments and legislative history. He has already shepherded several “criminal justice reform” bills into law and chairs some powerful committees:

Committee membership

As of July 3, 2022, Representative Slaughter is a member of the following Illinois House committees:

• Appropriations – Higher Education Committee (HAPI)
• (Chairman of) Criminal Administration and Enforcement Subcommittee (HJUC-CAES)
• (Chairman of) Firearms and Firearm Safety Subcommittee (HJUC-FIRE)
• International Trade & Commerce Committee (HITC)
• (Chairman of) Judiciary – Criminal Committee (HJUC)
• (Chairman of) Juvenile Justice and System-Involved Youth Subcommittee (HJUC-JJSI)
• Operations Subcommittee (HSGA-OEPR)
• Procurement Subcommittee (HSGA-PROC)
• Public Utilities Committee (HPUB)
• (Chairman of) Sentencing, Penalties and Criminal Procedure Subcommittee (HJUC-SPCP)
• (Chairman of) Sex Offenses and Sex Offender Registration Subcommittee (HJUC-SOSO)
• State Government Administration (HSGA)
• Water Subcommittee (HPUB-WATR)

This is not criminal justice “reform;” it is just one more step toward immunizing criminals from prosecution. At least certain criminals. Throw in some “hate crimes” laws to get the “privileged,” and you have the complete inversion of the system, protecting the victimizers instead of the victims.

If you look at the problem this way, the solution is working. The victimizers are winning in Chicago, and the victims are getting it good and hard. That most of these victims are themselves poorer and darker-skinned than their supposed “oppressors” doesn’t matter, apparently, to the criminal justice “reformers.”

What matters is protecting the thugs. And they are doing a bang-up job of it in Illinois.