CHICAGO (AP) - Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart says there’s been an increase in the number of accused gun offenders being released on electronic monitoring since bond reforms were enacted.
Dart says the increase has overwhelmed his office and forced him to shift staff, do more thorough vetting and if needed declare detainees too risky for electronic bracelets. Cook County’s chief judge last summer announced judges would be required to set bail in amounts that defendants could afford.
Dart wrote a letter to Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle on Thursday saying he’s not satisfied or convinced the monitoring program offers adequate protections given the increases. Preckwinkle spokesman Frank Shuftan said her office hadn’t yet reviewed Dart’s letter.
A spokesman for the chief judge’s office says judges don’t release defendants deemed to pose safety threats.
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