State House hopefuls Katz Muhl, Behr differ on immigration and SAFE-T Act but align on gun control

The candidates spoke with the Daily Herald for about an hour Wednesday in a joint, online interview and in questionnaires about these issues and others. A video of the interview can be found at dailyherald.com.

Katz Muhl is a lawyer and former school board member who was appointed to the state House earlier this year after Jonathan Carroll resigned.

Immigration

In the interview and in a Daily Herald questionnaire, Behr criticized the 2017 state law that limited the ability of state and local law enforcement agencies to participate in federal immigration enforcement efforts. The law prohibits police from arresting someone solely because of a request from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, for example. and from detaining people solely because of immigration status.

Prior to that law’s passage, Behr said, the flow to Illinois of migrants who entered the U.S. illegally was “only a trickle,” Behr said. “Now we’re a destination,” he said.

Such immigrants are taking away resources from Americans, Behr said. He cited housing and educational services as examples.

Katz Muhl said the government has “a moral obligation” to take care of people’s basic needs, such as housing, health care and education. Illinois should help “our new neighbors” while improving health care and housing services for all Illinoisans, she said in her questionnaire.

Crime

The candidates also shared differing opinions on the 2021 criminal justice reform legislation — dubbed the SAFE-T Act — that abolished cash bail, created new rules for when police can use force, expanded the use of body-worn cameras and implemented other changes.

Katz Muhl said she’s spoken with police officers and other first responders about the law’s effectiveness. She lauded the rules for body cameras, saying they protect officers and civilians, and the elimination of cash bail. Moving forward, she’d like to see the state focus on trying to rehabilitate criminals who are young adults through social work, job training and other alternatives to incarceration.

Behr said lawmakers’ objectives for the reforms were noble and rational, but he criticized some of the byproducts of the law. He said some offenders who aren’t jailed while awaiting trial don’t show up for their court appearances, and argued ankle monitors don’t always keep defendants at home and out of trouble.

Behr said he believes some prosecutors won’t push cases now deemed less serious, which tells criminals “there are no consequences to their action.” For those and other reasons, Behr said he opposes the law in its current form.

Gun control

Behr and Katz Muhl found common ground when it came to guns. Both support the state’s ban on the sale or manufacture of assault-style weapons, which has been upheld by the courts. Both also called for more restrictions on gun ownership.

Katz Muhl also said Illinois should shorten the time frames for reporting lost or stolen firearms, and she suggested penalties for gun owners who carelessly lose weapons.

Behr agreed with the intent of the assault weapons ban and said he supports Illinois’ other gun control measures, especially a law that allows authorities to temporarily remove firearms from people considered potentially dangerous.

Behr said he’d favor more stringent penalties for gun traffickers, people who remove serial numbers from firearms, people who use guns during crimes and people who possess automatic weapons.

In his questionnaire, Behr also called for thorough background checks for gun buyers, more government funding for mental health care and earlier intervention for people who might be violent.

The 57th District covers all or parts of Glenview, Northbrook, Northfield, Wilmette, Winnetka, Buffalo Grove, Des Plaines, Glencoe, Mount Prospect, Prospect Heights and Wheeling. The last day to vote is Nov. 5.