From the State’s Attorney’s Office:

SAFE-T Act’s Operation Continues to Reveal Concerns as Non-Detainable Defendants Return to the Community

More SAFE-T Act failures:

Defendant #1: A 36-year-old man was arrested for Domestic Battery after allegedly kicking his girlfriend in the head while she was sleeping, “causing her to have swelling on her face and blood in her right ear canal.”  The Defendant is currently on pretrial release for two pending domestic battery cases involving the same victim.  The Defendant is also on pretrial release in three other criminal cases called Violation of Bail Bond.  In those cases, the Defendant is alleged to have had contact with the alleged victim in the pending domestic battery cases after being ordered to refrain from doing so.  So, in summary, at the time of his most recent arrest for allegedly kicking his girlfriend in the head, the Defendant had FIVE pending criminal offenses wherein his girlfriend was the named victim.  In addition, the Defendant has an extensive criminal history that includes 23 prior arrests.  The court, however, ordered that the Defendant be released from custody pretrial, ordering for the fifth time that the Defendant have no contact with the victim and follow all court orders.  In addition, the Defendant was placed on ankle monitoring, which, by the consensus of academic research on the subject, does not work.     

Defendant #2: A 53-year-old man was charged with Domestic Battery in December of 2022, pled guilty, and was placed on probation.  As part of his probation, the Defendant was to have no contact with the victim and not consume alcohol or drugs.  In May of 2023, the Crystal Lake Police Department allegedly encountered the defendant under the influence of alcohol and in the presence of the alleged victim (i.e., entirely violating the prior court order).  As a result of the alleged violations of probation, the court issued a warrant for the Defendant’s arrest.  The warrant was served on October 14, 2023.  Though the defendant was eligible to be detained, he was released after being admonished to comply with court orders and not violate the law.  Two days later, on October 16, 2023, the Defendant was arrested for domestic battery after allegedly and again battering the same victim. 

Defendant #3: A 30-year-old man who was charged with Aggravated Domestic Battery after allegedly strangling his mother.  The Defendant has an extensive criminal history that includes multiple prior felony arrests and convictions.  At the time of his arrest for Aggravated Domestic Battery, the Defendant was on bond for Driving on a Suspended License.  During the pendency of the Driving on a Suspended License case, the Defendant failed to appear for three court dates.  Though the Defendant was eligible to be detained, the Defendant was released after being admonished to comply with court orders and not violate the law. 

Defendant #4: A 47-year-old man was charged with Robbery, Aggravated Battery, and Retail Theft after allegedly twice punching a security guard at Jewel Osco while attempting to commit a retail theft of various items, including alcohol.  The Defendant has an extensive criminal history that includes Aggravated Criminal Sexual Assault.  In addition, the Defendant had just pled guilty to retail theft in July of 2023 and was on court supervision at the time of this offense.  Though the Defendant was eligible to be detained, he was released after being admonished to comply court orders and not violate the law. 

Defendant #5: A 33-year-old woman charged was with Possession of Oxycodone in August of 2022 and posted bond.  In February of 2023, the Defendant failed to appear for a court date in the Possession of Oxycodone and a separate felony drug case in Lake County, and warrants issued for her arrest.  The McHenry warrant was served in March of 2023.  That same month, the court on the Defendant’s motion reduced the Defendant’s bond, she was able to post, and was released.  In June of 2023, the Defendant failed to appear via Zoom for her court date and the court sought to summon her to court by serving her with a court notice.  The defendant failed to appear on the summons date and a warrant was issued in August of 2023.  The warrant was served in October of 2023.  Due to the SAFE-T Act, failures to appear for court, no matter how many times, cannot result in denial of pretrial release.  As such, the Defendant was released after being admonished to appear for all court dates, follow court orders, and not violate the law.  The Defendant has an extensive criminal record that includes six felony drug offenses in the last five years. [Emphasis added.]

Criminal behavior, which has a cost in terms of human suffering of innocent and defenseless people, becomes endemic when there are no material efforts to forestall entirely foreseeable future criminal behavior or when a court system suspends commonsense to mechanically enforce not only the terms, but also the perceived intentions and ideology underlying the SAFE-T Act. 

At some point, it is incumbent upon the court system to adapt the SAFE-T Act to the demands of reality and the needs and safety of a community.