1) In a Tribune interview in February, Chief Judge Timothy Evans acknowledged for the first time that electronic monitoring program is flawed.
“I’ll surprise you; I’ll shock you,” he said. “I do not believe the public is as secure using electronic monitoring as I’d like to see.”
2) The Tribune earlier this year identified 1,264 felony defendants who allegedly committed new crimes while released pretrial on electronic monitoring in 2018 and the first five months of 2019.
3) At least four were charged with murder while out on bond, and at least two others were charged with attempted murder. Hundreds were charged with armed robbery, aggravated battery or other gun and drug crimes.
4) And what communities suffered the most? Sorted by ZIP code, the defendants who were charged with new crimes while on electronic monitoring were clustered in communities already struggling with violence, a Tribune analysis found.
5) And, as the Tribune reported last month, when a pretrial defendant cuts off his ankle bracelet and escapes from home confinement, there is little consequence.
What would happen if a politician unleashed former investigative reporters to investigate their office?
Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas did just that.
1) Pappas told two former reporters, whom she brought onto her staff last year, to follow the facts no matter where they may lead. The facts led to revelations of shortcomings by government officials in both Springfield and Cook County. And, they led to Pappas’ doorstep.
2) Pappas, the county’s longtime tax collector, had instructed her staff to investigate property tax sales conducted by her office. Many people don’t know that if they do not pay their taxes, under state law their delinquent property taxes can be sold to investors.