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Sen. Sims chased by alleged gunman

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Illinois

A Chicago lawmaker says he feared for his life after being threatened with a gun while driving this week in Springfield.

Adding to the trauma and loss of sleep, state Sen. Elgie Sims said Thursday, was the fact that the man who allegedly threatened him Monday night was released from the Sangamon County Jail the next day after posting $15,000 bail.

“By him being released on bail, he’s free to do this again,” Sims said.

Sims was the Senate sponsor of legislation that will eliminate the state’s cash-bail system in two years. The legislation, which Gov. JB Pritzker signed in February, is designed to eliminate what many Democratic lawmakers call a bail system that unfairly benefits people with means and penalizes people for being poor because they often can’t afford to post bail.

Sims, 50, a Democrat, told The State Journal-Register that he thinks the man who threatened him would have been detained and remained behind bars if the court system, as the new law will require, had to perform a more thorough analysis on whether releasing a suspect would pose a risk to public safety.

I told subscribers about this story the other day. You really gotta click here and read the whole thing. Sen. Sims went through some harrowing stuff.

posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 9:59 am

Comments

Paging James Mendrick

Comment by Precinct Captain Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 10:11 am
==whether releasing a suspect would pose a risk to public safety.==

The suspect had his FOID card revoked, then decided to pull a gun on a State Legislator and still was released on bail? I have a hard time believing that if the tables were turned and the Legislator was white and the suspect was black it would have gone down this way.

Comment by Gruntled University Employee Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 10:15 am
Don’t know his motive? I’m sure the aggrieved white president of a small dry wall business targeting, tail-gating and threatening a black legislator that co-sponsored a criminal justice reform bill that the Eastern Bloc types and their elected sheriffs have rallied against had nothing to do with the situation. Maybe the sheriff’s spokeman, will come out and say that Senator’s Sim’s harasser was “just having a bad day” like the young white Christian neckbeard in Atlanta.

Comment by LP Chicagoan Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 10:15 am
Would love to see how the armed white suspect was apprehended and arrested—very differently, apparently, than Jacob Blake, Laquan McDonald, Michael Brown and so many others. The police must have known he was allegedly armed, per the 911 call.

Comment by Grandson of Man Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 10:21 am
“Do you think that’s the first time I’ve had a gun pulled on me today?”

Glad all worked out well for sims.

Comment by Remember the Movie? Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 10:24 am
Glad to see Sen Sims emerged unscathed. There’s something about being behind a wheel of a car that makes crazy people even crazier. It’s why you’ll never see a political bumper sticker on my car. Why trigger a nut job that you might have accidentally cut off? Legislators might want to rethink those specialty plates.

Comment by Telly Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 10:26 am
It could turn out more will be detained under new statute.

Current law strongly disfavors detention without bail. New statute does not for certain offenses.

Will be interesting to see how the constitutional challenges play out with new statute, which takes effect 1/1/23.

Comment by BCOSEC Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 10:32 am
In my above comment, I don’t mean that a white suspect should be treated the same as many POC who suffered police brutality, but was being tastelessly sarcastic about institutional racism and disparate treatment. I apologize. No one should be abused at the hands of law enforcement.

Comment by Grandson of Man Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 10:33 am
An example of why the bail system is bad.
Kudos to everyone who voted for the new law.

Comment by Da Big Bad Wolf Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 10:47 am
Maybe Chuck Redpath could use his moral pulpit to say this isn’t Springfield since Chuck seems to be ready to spout off lately about all things. But that might offend his supporters.

Comment by Give Me A Break Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 10:48 am
The poor guy was at a mall shopping with his family when gun shots were fired and they had to lock down. That’s too much trauma in a short amount of time.

Take care of yourself Senator!

Comment by Because I said so.... Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 10:58 am
==The suspect had his FOID card revoked, then decided to pull a gun on a State Legislator and still was released on bail?==

Can anyone shed some light on how this was possible?

Comment by Senator Clay Davis Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 11:18 am
Sorry. Wrong thread. Please delete. I will repost.

Comment by Moe Berg Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 11:18 am
==the man who allegedly threatened him Monday night was released from the Sangamon County Jail the next day==

Good grief (banned punctuation) At a minimum, someone should have opted for a 72 hour psychiatric hold.

Comment by Jocko Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 11:38 am
My best to Sen. Sims, grateful he is safe.

No one should have to be faced with such a harrowing experience.

Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 11:40 am
The press lionizing of Sims over the criminal justice reform act just passed does not square with his legislative history. In 2013, prior to passage of Brandon Phelps’ concealed carry bill, I spoke with him briefly in the hallway at the Capitol re. the Duty to Inform that NRA lobbyist Todd Vandermyde placed in Phelps carry bill. Prior and after that conversation, Sims did nothing whatsoever about the DTI, and never once responded to my phone calls and emails on the issue (along with Kwame Raoul).

Meanwhile Chris Welch, LaShawn Ford, and Will Davis all opposed the Duty to Inform on the record in committee (Welch) or the house floor. I have a hard time seeing Sims as a great civil libertarian, or “anti-police” when he was on the same side as the police unions on this issue which is a threat to the black community (reference police killing of Philando Castile in Minnesota).

Comment by Elmer Keith Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 11:46 am
Only to the issue:

==The suspect had his FOID card revoked, then decided to pull a gun on a State Legislator and still was released on bail?==

If your not a legal resident of Illinois do you still need to have a FOID Card?

Comment by Cool Papa Bell Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 11:47 am
Now he knows how future crime victims will feel, thanks to his vote to end cash bail

Comment by aso Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 1:25 pm
Real question, without an ounce of my usual snark. Do you think batty would have been released on bail if he pulled a gun on a legislator who opposed the police reform measures?

We have seen countless examples of police making the lives of their fellow police officers if they dare report one of their own for abuses, you think they wouldn’t take revenge on a legislator that is actually trying to curtail their unlimited power?

Comment by Commisar Gritty Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 1:35 pm
Aso, the reform makes a judge look at the relevant information and scale it against a risk evaluation to decide who gets released and who stays.

You can’t just buy your way out of jail, which doesn’t help anyone.

Comment by Third Reading Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 1:47 pm
That guy used his pickup truck in the commission of gun crimes. Both his driver license and his pickup truck license plates should be suspended until the court decides his punishment. Using a vehicle in the commission of a crime is a crime in itself.

Comment by DuPage Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 1:54 pm
On the bail issue: this incident does illustrate part of the current problem in that a middle class UUW offender can usually come up with the 15k or so needed to bond out while a poor UUW offender usually can’t. However, we shouldn’t assume that this character would have remained locked up if the new bond reform law was in affect right now. The judge could still release him on his own recognizance under the new law. Indeed, right now in Cook County, where judges are following many of the bond reform measures on a defacto basis, it is not uncommon for UUW offenders with light criminal histories to be released without posting bail.

Comment by Telly Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 1:57 pm
What happened to the senator was wrong but a whole lot more people are going to experience this when his bill goes into effect.

Comment by Downstate Illinois Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 2:32 pm
== Now he knows how future crime victims will feel, thanks to his vote to end cash bail.==

Michael L. Hoyle was released on bail.

Comment by 17% Solution Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 2:34 pm
== What happened to the senator was wrong but a whole lot more people are going to experience this when his bill goes into effect.==

Michael L. Hoyle was released on bail.

Comment by 17 % Solution Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 2:35 pm
===Sims said he thinks his legislative license plates may have played a role.===

I would put my life savings on this being the case.

Comment by Candy Dogood Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 2:36 pm
“The judge could still release him on his own recognizance under the new law.”
The judge could do that now.

Comment by Mr. Green Genes Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 2:41 pm
=== Do you think batty would have been released on bail if he pulled a gun on a legislator who opposed the police reform measures?===
This would be the judge making this decision not the police.

Comment by Da Big Bad Wolf Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 2:44 pm
Anxious to hear the perpetrator’s explanation and reasoning for his actions (before he goes to jail). He was probably on a mission to stop a democratic terrorist.

Comment by Lincoln Lad Friday, Mar 19, 21 @ 3:01 pm