The man charged with his murder, Chevazz Campbell, reportedly has seven prior felony convictions, including a case in which he stabbed a 17-year-old girl, allegedly because she was taking up too much space on the sidewalk. Despite that history, Campbell was on electronic monitoring at the time of Mobley's murder.
The failures of Illinois' electronic monitoring system have become so concerning that even Democrat Cook County State's Attorney Eileen O'Neill Burke has publicly called for reforms, describing the system as broken.
Earlier this year, reports revealed that approximately 8% of defendants assigned to electronic monitoring in Cook County, 244 people, were unaccounted for. It’s a systematic failure only the likes of Cook County could come up with.
Tragically, Mobley's death is not the only serious incident involving someone assigned to electronic monitoring. Consider these cases:
- CTA Blue Line attack: A man on electronic monitoring was accused of setting a woman on fire aboard a CTA train.
- Chicago police officer shooting: A man assigned to electronic monitoring was charged with fatally shooting one Chicago police officer and wounding another.
- Governor's Chicago residence: A man reportedly assigned to electronic monitoring was arrested after entering the governor's property.
House Republicans have introduced legislation aimed at addressing these concerns, including HB 5757, which would require revocation of pretrial release when a defendant commits a new felony while on electronic monitoring.
As lawmakers prepare for the upcoming Veto Session, House Democrats should immediately take up our bills to fix this flawed system and finally get serious about preventing the next tragedy.