{"id":36869,"date":"2026-05-01T09:12:52","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T14:12:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/?p=36869"},"modified":"2026-05-01T09:12:52","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T14:12:52","slug":"safe-t-act-back-in-spotlight-after-killing-of-chicago-police-officer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/36869-safe-t-act-back-in-spotlight-after-killing-of-chicago-police-officer\/","title":{"rendered":"SAFE-T Act Back in Spotlight After Killing of Chicago Police Officer"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"pdfprnt-buttons pdfprnt-buttons-post pdfprnt-top-right\"><a href=\"javascript: window.print()\" class=\"pdfprnt-button pdfprnt-button-print\" target=\"_self\" ><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-content\/plugins\/pdf-print\/images\/print.png\" alt=\"image_print\" title=\"Print Content\" \/><span class=\"pdfprnt-button-title pdfprnt-button-print-title\">Print<\/span><\/a><\/div><p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Republican candidate for governor Darren Bailey holds a news conference at the Illinois Peace Officers Memorial outside the Capitol in Springfield on Thursday, April 30, 2026. (Capitol News Illinois by Jenna Schweikert)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pritzker, Republicans point fingers over blame for alleged killer\u2019s release<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By BEN SZALINSKI<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Capitol News Illinois<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><a href=\"mailto:news@capitolnewsillinois.com\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">news@capitolnewsillinois.com<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>Article Summary<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The SAFE-T Act is once again making headlines after a man on pretrial release was charged for the murder of Chicago Police Officer John Bartholomew.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Republicans are calling for changes to the law to make it easier to detain someone before trial.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Republican candidate for governor Darren Bailey proposed changes to electronic monitoring rules but said his plan would not call for returning to the use of cash bail.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gov. JB Pritzker blamed the judge in the case for deciding to release the man accused of the murder despite a history of violent crimes.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This summary was written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SPRINGFIELD \u2014 The SAFE-T Act is again generating controversy following the killing of a Chicago Police officer whose alleged shooter critics of the law say was only out of jail because of the state\u2019s pretrial laws.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While Republicans say the law needs to be changed to make it easier to hold a person in custody while they await trail, others say the judge who allowed the suspect\u2019s release had the authority to detain him but made the wrong decision.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gov. JB Pritzker said the judge should have ordered the detention of Alphanso Talley \u2014 a man with a violent criminal <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.idoc.state.il.us\/subsections\/search\/inms_print.asp?idoc=Y38853\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">history<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> who is charged with shooting and killing Chicago Police Officer John Bartholomew at a hospital on the city\u2019s North Side on April 25.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The law creates a presumption of pretrial release and directs the justice system to order the least restrictive method of ensuring someone attends their trial. But it also lets prosecutors petition judges to detain individuals who they believe are a risk to the public or of fleeing prosecution.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Talley had previously served time in prison and been convicted of crimes such as aggravated armed robbery and battery of a correctional officer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/wgntv.com\/news\/wgn-investigates\/wgn-investigates-what-court-transcript-shows-about-hearing-that-released-alleged-cop-killer-in-previous-case\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to WGN<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Talley was granted pretrial release by a Cook County judge over prosecutors\u2019 objections while he faced armed carjacking charges. He was put on electronic monitoring, but he stopped showing up to court in March and his monitor went silent. A warrant was issued for his arrest, but he remained out of jail.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe reality of the SAFE-T Act is stark,\u201d House Republican Leader Tony McCombie, R-Savanna, said at a news conference on Wednesday. \u201cIndividuals with extensive criminal histories or active charges are being released and committing crimes, serious crimes in their communities.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">McCombie and Senate Republican Leader John Curran, R-Downers Grove, are proposing a specific solution in response to Bartholomew\u2019s killing. They want people who are on electronic monitoring pretrial and commit a new crime to automatically have pretrial release revoked until the case is resolved.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since the law\u2019s early days, its Republican opponents repeatedly called for giving judges full discretion to keep dangerous suspects detained.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pritzker told reporters in Chicago on Wednesday that judicial decisions have led to many of the high-profile releases of people who\u2019ve gone on to commit violent crime.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIn most of the cases where Republicans have complained about the SAFE-T Act, it\u2019s actually been the bad decision by an elected judge in Illinois, or no hearing at all because the prosecutor didn\u2019t bring it to the judge, and that has been a reason why somebody gets let out,\u201d Pritzker said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In many instances, proponents have argued, repeat offenders could have been out on bail under the previous system.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">State lawmakers passed the SAFE-T Act in January 2021 as part of a series of initiatives led by the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus in response to civil unrest and racial justice conversations following the 2020 murder of George Floyd.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>On the campaign trail\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pritzker\u2019s Republican opponent this fall, former Sen. Darren Bailey of Clay County, held a news conference at the Statehouse on Thursday to call for the SAFE-T Act\u2019s repeal. However, some of his proposals mirror the existing Pretrial Fairness Act \u2014 the portion of the SAFE-T Act that deals with pretrial procedures and is the subject of much of the criticism over the law.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bailey outlined his six-point proposal in a news conference. It would keep the no-cash bail system and require judges to evaluate a person\u2019s criminal history, compliance with supervision and risk to victims. It would also allow judges to order detention of people who are deemed a public safety threat or flight risk before trial. All of those are components of the current law.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIf a judge believes that someone is more likely than not to be a danger to the community, they stay in jail,\u201d Bailey said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sen. Elgie Sims, D-Chicago, an architect of the SAFE-T Act, said he hopes other Republicans also come to realize the state is better off without cash bail.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cCertainly, it&#8217;s recognition that that the policy is working,\u201d Sims said of Bailey\u2019s proposal. \u201cAnd the (cash bail) policy was certainly never about safety. It was always about the access to wealth.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bailey\u2019s more specific changes to the law would create a presumption of detention for repeat violent offenders, while the current law requires prosectors to prove a person must be detained. He also wants changes to electronic monitoring rules to end free movement requirements.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIt&#8217;s basically the honor system. That ends,\u201d Bailey said. \u201cViolent offenders will be supervised by real law enforcement, people with the authority to act when something goes wrong, and if you violate your monitor, even once, you&#8217;re back in front of a judge within 48 hours \u2013 no loopholes, no excuses, no second chances.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pritzker also said he believes people should be \u201cimmediately apprehended\u201d if they violate mandatory supervised release terms.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Legislative deliberations\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">McCombie and Curran say their proposal is common sense.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThis is saying that if you get a get-out-of-free-jail card, and you get a second chance, and you mess that up by committing another felony while on release, you don&#8217;t get any more chances,\u201d Curran said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/capitolnewsillinois.com\/news\/top-democrats-say-they-would-consider-small-changes-to-illinois-safe-t-act\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">chatter from some top Democrats<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> earlier this year that lawmakers could consider changes to the SAFE-T Act, nothing is immediately being considered in Springfield.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIf there is something that we need to work through, we certainly can evaluate that to see how that works,\u201d Sims said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ocj-web-files.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/documents\/April_25_2026_Weekly_PFA_Data_Dashboard.pdf?VersionId=xJfLlEQjaQ0z88wGunK7_mZlg5tF2IqW\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cook County court records<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> show 83% of people who have been released pretrial have not committed new crimes. Six percent have been charged with new violent crimes while 11% have been charged with new nonviolent crimes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sims said the tragedy involving Bartholomew doesn\u2019t mean the law needs to be tossed aside.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI wish that folks who were the purveyors of fear who want to just trot these issues out \u2013 the one-offs \u2013 they would take time to delve into the policy and how things are working,\u201d Sims said. \u201cAnd that&#8217;s what you see from folks, from academicians to practitioners, they&#8217;re showing that we are making progress.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/capitolnewsillinois.com\/\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Capitol News Illinois<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Republican candidate for governor Darren Bailey holds a news conference at the Illinois Peace Officers Memorial outside the Capitol in Springfield on Thursday, April 30, 2026. (Capitol News Illinois by [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":36870,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36869","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>SAFE-T Act Back in Spotlight After Killing of Chicago Police Officer - Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader, 979XFM and KJ Country 102.3<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/36869-safe-t-act-back-in-spotlight-after-killing-of-chicago-police-officer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SAFE-T Act Back in Spotlight After Killing of Chicago Police Officer - 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