* Without a doubt, the local news media in Illinois has misrepresented the SAFE-T Act more than any other state law since I’ve been doing this. And I’ve been doing this for 36 years.
This NBC 5 story is just the latest case in point. It’s disrespectful not only to the facts and the viewers, but, in my opinion, to the killed and wounded police officers…
As more details emerge on the fatal shooting of a Chicago police officer at a hospital, questions over the SAFE-T Act are coming again to the forefront. […]
There was an active warrant for Talley’s arrest after he missed a March court date according to the NBC 5 Investigates team, and he had been on electronic monitoring on charges of armed robbery and vehicular hijacking, according to Cook County officials.
His release from custody during that time is being questioned by numerous officials after he allegedly fatally shot 38-year-old CPD Officer John Bartholomew and critically wounded another officer in a shooting at Endeavor Swedish Hospital on Saturday.
Those critical of the release include Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza, who is weighing whether to run for mayor of Chicago.
“Officer Bartholomew would be alive today if this massively repeat offender of violent crime after violent crime were behind bars where he belonged,” she said. “No reasonable person breathing should think it’s okay to put an armed robber, carjacker on an electronic monitor and send them on their merry way.” […]
Chicago Ald. Anthony Napolitano called the SAFE-T Act “a failed system” in remarks on the shooting Monday.
“It’s a failed system. It’s an absolutely failed system,” he said.
Not a single person with actual knowledge of what is in the SAFE-T Act was quoted in that story. You’d think reporters would have learned by now that some rando alderman isn’t an expert on state law.
* Thankfully, WGN TV’s Ben Bradley debunked part of the misinformation that’s being spread…
I can tell you that the most recent carjacking, it involved a gun. The guy had a record. It was eligible for detention. He was originally detained, but then for a reason we don’t know, a Cook County judge ordered him released on electronic monitoring.
The statute tells us what crimes are eligible for detention. Here are just a few of them…
the defendant is charged with a forcible felony, which as used in this Section, means treason, first degree murder, second degree murder, predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, aggravated criminal sexual assault, criminal sexual assault, armed robbery, aggravated robbery, robbery, burglary where there is use of force against another person, residential burglary, home invasion, vehicular invasion, aggravated arson, arson, aggravated kidnaping, kidnaping, aggravated battery resulting in great bodily harm or permanent disability or disfigurement, or any other felony which involves the threat of or infliction of great bodily harm or permanent disability or disfigurement
Vehicular invasion…
A person commits vehicular invasion when he or she knowingly, by force and without lawful justification, enters or reaches into the interior of a motor vehicle while the motor vehicle is occupied by another person or persons, with the intent to commit therein a theft or felony.
The accused was also charged in the past with armed robbery (three times), aggravated robbery and aggravated kidnaping. Those are all detainable offenses.
* Even CWBChicago gets it…
When accused cop killer Alphonso Talley vanished from Cook County’s electronic monitoring system for more than 17 hours last month, then disappeared entirely after letting his ankle bracelet battery run dead, a series of safeguards were supposed to kick in.
A judge was supposed to be notified within 24 hours. A warrant, once issued, was supposed to be fast-tracked for service. A seven-time convicted felon already on pretrial release for armed carjacking and armed robbery was on the loose, and authorities were supposed to round him up.
That didn’t happen.
Those safeguards were the centerpiece of a high-profile push by Chief Judge Charles Beach, who made overhauling the county’s troubled electronic monitoring programs the very first move he announced publicly after taking office on December 1.
Electronic monitoring is not part of the SAFE-T Act. That’s a local thing.
* Partial excerpt from an Illinois Network For Pretrial Justice statement…
The Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice sends our sincere condolences to the family and friends of Chicago Police Officer John Bartholomew. We continue to keep the injured police officer in our thoughts and hope for his recovery. No family should experience the pain caused by these senseless acts of violence, and our hearts go out to everyone impacted here.
Unfortunately, as we have seen time and time again since the passage of the Pretrial Fairness Act, cynical individuals are once again attempting to turn the pain of others into their own political gain. What is clear from publicly-available information is that there was absolutely nothing in the law that prohibited the detention of Alphanso Talley while he was awaiting trial. Any statement to the contrary is manifestly false.
No pretrial system can prevent every single tragedy, but it’s clear that Illinois has the tools in place to respond to concerns about public safety. The reality is that the new system—which gives judges more time and information to make release and detention decisions—is far better than the one that allowed the size of someone’s bank account to be the primary factor deciding who was released and who was jailed while awaiting trial. […]
The insistence by some to blame every act of violence on the Pretrial Fairness Act is not only a callous capitalization on someone else’s suffering, it is also a distraction from honest efforts to improve community safety. Decades of research documented the injustice of the money bond system and the ways in which it failed to keep our communities safe and increased the likelihood that people would be arrested again in the future.
* With that in mind…
House Republicans Demand Accountability Following Tragic Murder of Police Officer
Springfield, IL – According to the Chicago Police Department, Alphanso Talley has now been charged in the heinous murder of a Chicago police officer and the attempted murder of another officer, along with a long list of additional felony charges.
At the time of this horrific attack, Talley was wanted on three warrants, was on parole in two separate cases, and had a lengthy criminal history dating back to 2017.
Yet earlier this year, Governor JB Pritzker and Speaker Chris Welch praised the SAFE-T Act as sound and effective policy. Now Illinois families are left asking how a repeat violent offender with this record was free to take a police officer’s life and leave another in critical condition.
Talley’s reported criminal history includes:
• Charges dating back to 2017 include carjacking, kidnapping, and armed robbery
• A 2021 arrest for being a felon on parole in possession of a weapon
• 2023 charges for several crimes including unlawful possession of a stolen motor vehicle and aggravated fleeing
• A 2024 charge for battering correctional officers while in custody at Cook County Jail
• A 2025 arrest connected to a violent carjacking in Bronzeville
Governor Pritzker, Speaker Welch, and House Democrats owe the people of Illinois answers and accountability for how a repeat offender like this was free to be on our streets and allegedly commit such a heinous and tragic crime.
House Republicans have introduced more than 40 bills to fix flaws in the SAFE-T Act, strengthen accountability, and restore balance to Illinois’ criminal justice system. Those reforms have been repeatedly ignored.
How can Democrats continue to stand by a policy that keeps failing after tragedies like this? A Chicago police officer is dead and another remains in critical condition. What more will it take for Democrats to get serious about fixing the SAFE-T Act?
House Republicans continue to mourn the fallen officer, pray for the recovery of the wounded officer, and stand with their families and the men and women of the Chicago Police Department. Our brave law enforcement officers deserve policies that protect them.
Also, that 2025 carjacking arrest happened during Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke’s tenure.
- Alton Sinkhole - Tuesday, Apr 28, 26 @ 8:49 am:
It’s been really sad to see Mendoza leading the charge on this. She, and her team, are better than this.
- Casper The Ghost Bus - Tuesday, Apr 28, 26 @ 8:49 am:
But all these facts get in the way of a really easy news story.
- Stephanie Kollmann - Tuesday, Apr 28, 26 @ 8:49 am:
Thank you for consistently reporting the facts about this law.
- Its the judges - Tuesday, Apr 28, 26 @ 8:59 am:
And it has always been the judges.
- P. - Tuesday, Apr 28, 26 @ 9:08 am:
Remarkable how Tom Dart has skated on this issue or been otherwise missing in these conversations. Whether or not any blame should be assessed the most prominent place I’ve seen in the last year was on the primary ballot.
- DS - Tuesday, Apr 28, 26 @ 9:10 am:
Sheriff Dart and SA Burke have been sounding the alarm on the judiciary’s inability to safely manage its EHM program to protect public safety.
- JS Mill - Tuesday, Apr 28, 26 @ 9:31 am:
=And it has always been the judges.=
I assume you are mainly talking about monitoring, if not I apologize for the assumption. They also have a responsibility with the detention aspect obviously and to your comment I would add SA’s as well.
For the ILGOP- I will use two of their faves as a response…
It is not the right time to discuss these concerns. And…
I offer my thoughts and prayers.
- Google is Your Friend - Tuesday, Apr 28, 26 @ 9:37 am:
==- Alton Sinkhole - Tuesday, Apr 28, 26 @ 8:49 am:==
She does this repeatedly. She is not better than this. This is who she is at her core. A reactionary.
- RNUG - Tuesday, Apr 28, 26 @ 9:40 am:
Time to change Absolute Judicial Immunity to Qualified Immunity.
- Stix Hix - Tuesday, Apr 28, 26 @ 9:47 am:
I have had numerous conversations with opponents of the SAFE-T act. Each time I succeeded in explaining what it really is. Typical responses were along the line of “I didn’t know that”, or “I never thought about that”.
- Iron Duke - Tuesday, Apr 28, 26 @ 9:47 am:
Judge Lyke acknowledged at the hearing last December the suspected cop killer would have faced $1 million dollar bail under the state’s old cash bail system.
“Our esteemed legislature says no, we are not going to do that anymore- we are going to take a critical look at it.”
Seems like an easy fix for the legislature to safeguard the public from soft on crime judges, who are unable to detain violent repeat offenders.
Mandatory minimum sentences for repeat violent offenders, especially those who violate their the terms of their electronic monitoring.
The States Attorney rigorously objected to the release on electronic monitoring, so they are not to blame for the lack of detention in this case.
The Governor has said he was open to changes in the law after the tragic case of the offender on electronic monitoring who set the girl on fire on the blue line but we have seen no proposals.
- NIU Grad - Tuesday, Apr 28, 26 @ 9:49 am:
“She, and her team, are better than this.”
They’re really not. She’s learned the same lesson that local TV has learned: Using the SAFE-T Act as a punching bag is a fast way to get clicks and engagement online. She also has spent the last few years with conservative Democrats in Chicago and living in that echo chamber. This is who she is.
- Tammy - Tuesday, Apr 28, 26 @ 9:54 am:
It would be nice if some scrutiny was directed where it actually belongs: toward the judges making these decision. They decide which violent offenders are locked up — both pre-trial and post conviction.
In Cook County, the judiciary made a policy decision *before* the SAFE-T Act passed to release more and more defendants charged with violent crimes to electronic monitoring — that’s one of the problems in this case.
Obviously, there is some need for judges to be sheltered from political pressure, but that leeway should not be absolute. Judges make mistakes. There decisions should be subject to a modicum of public scrutiny. They make well over 200k a year for what is essentially a lifetime appointment (Cook County judges have more than a 99 percent retention rate because 60 of them appear on the ballot at the same time, so voters can’t see the forest through the trees.)
I suppose it’s just easier for the media to regurgitate political talking points than do a deep dive on this.
- Iron Duke - Tuesday, Apr 28, 26 @ 9:59 am:
We have COPA- Civilan Office of Police Accountability but no similar watchdog for Judges.
Voters can only choose not to retain them- which hardly ever happens.
In 2024, all 77 Cook County Judges up for retention for their 6 year terms, won another term in office.
- Amalia - Tuesday, Apr 28, 26 @ 10:05 am:
yeah, it’s not the fault of THIS State’s Attorney. the judges need to keep more offenders in. but the attitude is we need to keep the poor guys out, we have a crowded jail, there are too many of these people in jail. how to get those people who commit crime after crime automatically detained would be my wish. the crying that the law is not the problem is kinda sad in the face of the death of an officer.
- Chicagonk - Tuesday, Apr 28, 26 @ 10:12 am:
The judge in this case clearly made a bad error in judgment, but this also shows the issues with electronic monitoring currently. Neither the judges nor the sheriff want to take responsibility, but someone has to enforce violations.
- Stephanie Kollmann - Tuesday, Apr 28, 26 @ 10:15 am:
“police should only be arresting people who are not dangerous” is a very strange place to start the analysis of what happened here.
- Occasionally Moderated - Tuesday, Apr 28, 26 @ 10:27 am:
Yes, this one is on the judge.
I find it incredulous that a $1,000,000 bond would have been set in this case in the absence of the current procedure. Everyone knows that is a sure detention, that guy isn’t coming up with $100k.
Judges do what judges want to do. They find a way. There is no shortage of creativity when it comes to doing what they want to do. And yet this judge blamed it on the act.
- JS Mill - Tuesday, Apr 28, 26 @ 10:32 am:
=who are unable to detain violent repeat offenders.=
As judges, they alone are able to detain those brought before the bench. It seems strange that you think otherwise. Maybe unwilling, but not unable.
=Seems like an easy fix for the legislature to safeguard the public =
Maybe I am reading your comment wrong, but it sounds like you are suggesting the legislature bring back bail. Is that correct? Exactly how would bail, even high bail, protect the citizens from some of these people? The same judges that can simply detain them are unlikely to make the move with bail, even given your singular example.
Cook County has obviously issues with their monitoring system, I don’t think defendants accused of violent crimes should be released on electronic monitoring, especially those with previous convictions of the same nature. I do agree with the suggestion that repeat offenders (not talking about one or two minor offenses, but those that are recidivists) should also qualify for pre-trial detention. Might be harsh, but sometimes enough is enough.