McLean County Times

State Sen. Sally Turner (R-Beason) made public her thoughts on how the criminal justice reform bill was handled and she was anything but happy about it.

Turner wrote a statement in which she praised some parts of House Bill 3653, the criminal justice reform bill. She said that the bill had “some good ideas” and that if it had gone through a lengthier process she might have given it her full support.  "Instead, House Bill 3653 was hastily pushed through the General Assembly in the final hours of lame duck session with little transparency."

She said that due to the hasty processing of a very important bill she could not support it in any way. “Reforms to our criminal justice system are too important to get wrong, which is why I cannot support the way this bill was created. I am disappointed by the Governor’s decision to sign it into law.”

Turner is not the only Republican senator to oppose the criminal justice reform bill. Most Republican lawmakers opposing the bill have said it sets a bad precedent where criminals get more leeway while constricting police officers in their duties.