Kendall County Times

A Chicago man who started a gun fight that resulted in the death of a woman has not been indicted on murder charges. Republican lawmakers blame this on the Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today (SAFE-T) Act

Rep. David Welter (R-Morris) supports the act being repealed.

"We need to repeal #Democrats failed SAFE-T Act immediately, before more tragedies occur!" Welter said in a post to his official Facebook account on Feb. 14. 

In December, Travis Andrews, 26, shot multiple rounds at another person near a convenience store. The targeted individual shot back at him, and shot a 54-year-old woman, Melinda Crump, in the stomach as a result. Crump later died from the wound, but the individual who shot her escaped from the scene. 

Under Illinois law, Andrews could have been indicted on first-degree murder charges for starting the gun battle which caused Crump's death, but due to a provision of the SAFE-T Act, Andrews could only indicted on a weapons charge, as he did not directly instigate the death of Crump. 

Other measures of the SAFE-T Act include getting rid of cash bail by 2023, enabling people accused of specific felonies to avoid being detained before their trial and adding restrictions on Illinois police officers.

Police unions and pro-law enforcement groups are generally opposed to the SAFE-T Act. 

January of this year was the fourth-deadliest January in Chicago since the year 2000, with 219 people being shot, 48 people being murdered, and 791 guns being found.

During the weekend of Feb. 13, 9 individuals were shot in Chicago, of which three were killed. One of the individuals injured was a 16-year-old girl who got shot in the leg when she was walking down the sidewalk in Gresham on the South Side.