Since the Pretrial Fairness Act took effect, defendants released into Illinois communities have been accused of committing violent crimes, while failures in electronic monitoring have raised serious questions about public safety and accountability.
Some of the cases include:
- A man accused of setting a CTA passenger on fire while on electronic monitoring.
- Man charged in fatal hospital shooting Chicago police officer violated his electronic monitoring weeks before.
- A Chicago-area man accused of sucker-punching an “innocent woman” while on pretrial release.
- A Joliet robbery defendant who was on pretrial release under the SAFE-T Act.
The problems extend beyond individual cases. Cook County has struggled to track defendants placed on electronic monitoring, with roughly 8% reportedly classified as AWOL.
Even Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke has called for reforms, warning that placing violent defendants on electronic monitoring is not a tenable system.
Three years later, Illinoisans are still waiting for meaningful action.
Gov. JB Pritzker has said he is open to changes to the SAFE-T Act, but his words have had no follow through. But while he gives empty promises, House Republicans have introduced more than 40 bills aimed at addressing problems with the state’s pretrial system.
Illinois families deserve a system that protects victims, holds dangerous offenders accountable and gives judges the tools they need to keep dangerous people off the streets.