Kane County parents and taxpayers watching what just happened in California have a legitimate and growing sense of alarm. The article you’re viewing describes how Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 3234—a rushed, no hearing “gut and amend” bill—that lowered the age and time served requirements for elderly parole, making even violent sex offenders eligible for early release.
That change directly enabled the parole of David Allen Funston, a man a Sacramento judge once called “the monster parents fear the most,” convicted of kidnapping and molesting children as young as three. When survivors, prosecutors, and law enforcement warn that such a release puts communities at risk, families in Illinois naturally ask whether similar policies could take root here—especially in a state where major criminal justice reforms have already been enacted resulting in great devastation.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the SAFE-T Act, a sweeping criminal justice overhaul that critics argued weakened accountability and reduced detention options for dangerous offenders. The law eliminated cash bail, expanded early release, and placed new constraints on law enforcement—changes that many local officials warned would compromise community safety and shift costs onto counties that were already overtaxed.
Those concerns echo what California is now experiencing; when state level reforms prioritize leniency without strong safeguards, the financial and safety burdens fall directly on taxpayers, schools, parks, libraries, and every public sector where children gather. In a state already struggling with high taxes, pension debt, and unfunded mandates, Illinois families are right to question lawmakers. Pritzker could easily follow Newsom’s model, thus increase the risk and the county and crush taxpayers with added financial pressure.
Some observers see parallels between Newsom’s approach and Pritzker’s pattern of supporting broad criminal justice reforms that critics say move faster than public consensus. These laws are railroaded without public input. In California, Democrats rejected multiple attempts to close the loophole that allowed violent sex offenders into the elderly parole program.
In Illinois, the SAFE-T Act was passed quickly during a lame duck session, with opponents arguing that it lacked transparency and adequate public input. While the two governors are not identical, both lead states where progressive criminal justice philosophies shape major policy decisions. For Illinois parents and taxpayers, the concern is not partisan—it is practical: if California’s experiment has now resulted in the release of a man once deemed too dangerous ever to walk free, Illinois must decide whether it will follow that path or draw a firm line to protect children and communities. Kane County deserves better.
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