* Background is here if you need it. DuPage County State’s Attorney Bob Berlin last month…

“Most of your domestic batteries are misdemeanors. Those would always result in some type of a cash bond and most of those defendants were getting out. Now we’re seeking detention on most domestic batteries. You can see out of 177 detention petitions, 71 had been granted, that’s actually pretty good,” said Berlin.

* Daily Herald this past weekend…

A man released from jail earlier this month on misdemeanor domestic battery charges shot and killed his wife Friday night in Villa Park, authorities said. […]

Prosecutors did not seek to detain Elguezabal pretrial. He was accused of pulling Julie Elguezabal’s hair, and punching her several times in the face, neck and back, according to court records.

* CBS 2’s Megan Hickey yesterday…

There’s new information about the man who police said shot and killed his wife before turning the gun on himself in west suburban Villa Park.

He’d just been released from jail on domestic battery charges and why the DuPage County State’s Attorney is pledging to fix the system as a result. […]

Winston Elguezabal had been arrested just 12 days earlier, on April 14, and charged with domestic battery against Julie.

But he was released two days later.

The DuPage County States Attorneys office said that’s because he did not meet the criteria for detention under the SAFE-T Act.

Um, domestic battery is a detainable offense…

Upon verified petition by the State, the court shall hold a hearing and may deny a defendant pretrial release only if: […]

(4) the defendant is charged with domestic battery or aggravated domestic battery under Section 12-3.2 or 12-3.3 of the Criminal Code of 2012 and it is alleged that the defendant’s pretrial release poses a real and present threat to the safety of any person or persons or the community, based on the specific articulable facts of the case

Somebody needs to send all Illinois reporters an easy to understand list of detainable offenses.

Either way, the Daily Herald reported that Berlin’s office didn’t even ask that the defendant be detained.

…Adding… Sens. Robert Peters and Celina Villanueva and Rep. Kelly Cassidy…

We grieve the loss of Julie Elguezabal and send our deepest condolences to her family and loved ones. Any loss of life is a tragedy, but the Pretrial Fairness Act is not to blame for this horrific act of domestic violence. The old money bond system did not keep our communities safe, and the new system gives prosecutors and judges the discretion they need to make release and detention decisions based on the danger someone may pose—not how much they can afford to pay. Public safety is our top priority. That’s why we’ve implemented this new system.

As legislators who center our work on pretrial justice and domestic violence around the needs of survivors of violence, and as survivors of domestic violence ourselves, we are extremely concerned by DuPage County State’s Attorney Bob Berlin’s insinuation that this tragedy was a failure of the law. Specifically, State’s Attorney Berlin has indicated his office didn’t have enough time to properly evaluate and mediate the potential risk of Mr. Elguezabal’s release.

The Pretrial Fairness Act is supported by the leading organizations working to end gender-based violence precisely because it focuses on protecting survivors. Under the money bond system, police could release people accused of misdemeanor domestic violence without even sending them to court. If they did go to court, hearings lasted a few minutes or even mere seconds. Now, for the first time, the law requires everyone accused of domestic battery to appear before a judge where a transparent release or detention decision is made. Survivors are notified of these hearings and can make decisions about their involvement in the case and plan for their safety. The Pretrial Fairness Act created the ability for prosecutors to request detention in misdemeanor domestic violence cases, aggressively expanded victim notification requirements, and abolished the money bond system that allowed people to buy their way out of any judicial decision-making.

There is much we do not yet know about the process that led to the tragic murder of Julie Elguezabal. What we do know is that earlier this month, her husband was arrested and charged with two counts of domestic battery. In that case, the DuPage County State’s Attorney chose not to request detention of her husband. Mr. Elguezabal was released on GPS monitoring and ordered to stay away from Mrs. Elguezabal. He was required to surrender his FOID card and any firearms in his possession to local law enforcement. Despite surrendering his FOID card, Mr. Elguezabal was still able to access a firearm, and on Friday night, he arrived at his wife’s house where he killed her and then himself.

As we learn more about what happened in this tragic series of events, we must remember that the Pretrial Fairness Act provides far greater protections for survivors of domestic violence than the old money bond system. No system is fool-proof, and no law can prevent all future violence. Rather than reacting and rushing to revise pretrial laws based on this horrific incident, we must continue to build a holistic vision of safety for all, work to reduce gun violence and provide increased resources to survivors of domestic violence.

A perfect example of a good policy that needs to be adopted immediately is Karina’s Bill, which would create much-needed enforcement mechanisms for the existing law preventing people accused of domestic violence from retaining possession of firearms. Like Mrs. Elguezabal, Karina Gonzalez was murdered by a violent partner who retained access to a firearm even after he had been ordered by a judge to surrender his guns.

We look forward to working with advocates and our partners in the legislature to ensure we close this loophole in the enforcement of existing laws and reduce the number of women murdered by partners. We don’t want more laws named after domestic violence victims—we want fewer domestic violence victims.

…Adding… Gov. Pritzker was asked about the DuPage case today…

I don’t know that there needs to be any legislative change. But, just in the way cases are handled, we need to make sure that domestic violence is something that gets taken very seriously.

He also said that accused domestic abusers “should remain incarcerated.”

* The governor was also asked about the above-mentioned Karina’s Law proposal…

In general I support the concept of the bill. I will say if you listen to the State Police and actually all the other police [agencies] too, it’s quite difficult to remove a firearm from somebody, even if they’ve given up their FOID card. But in the instance where you’ve got to go confiscate the firearm, literally you have to bring sometimes four officers to one situation in order to remove the weapon. And if somebody doesn’t want to give it to you, it becomes quite complicated.

North Carolina just went through a horrible experience with just this sort of thing. [OK, it’s been pointed out to me that the NC tragedy is not the same. However, it’s what the police do worry about, and that, and the police staffing levels, are some of the main obstacles to overcome as far as the bill goes.]