Dupage Policy Journal

Cash bail has become a heated talking point for GOP members in Congress, with many claiming that ending bail will lead to more crimes, while innocent people who couldn’t afford bail sit in prison and jail.

DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin and Oak Brook Police Chief Brian Strockis recently announced that two Wisconsin women who are accused of stealing more than $1,200 worth of merchandise from the Nordstrom Rack in Oak Brook are each facing multiple felony charges and have had their bonds set. The women, 24-year-old Aaliyah Guy and 25-year-old Kaphree Jordan, both from Milwaukee, were allegedly seen by Oak Brook police officers running out of the Nordstrom Rack store at the Shops of Oak Brook

“The allegations that after committing a burglary at the Nordstrom Rack, the defendants led authorities on a high-speed chase in excess of 100 mph, demonstrates their complete disregard for the rule of law,” Berlin wrote on Facebook in response to two Wisconsin women stealing approximately $1,200 in merchandise and are on bail.

The woman later identified as Guy was wearing a backpack. Both women got into a Kia, which Jordan drove away. The officers pursued the Kia and were led on a high-speed chase down Route 83 to I-88 to I-290 to I-294. The officers ultimately stopped the vehicle by deploying spike strips and were then able to take the women into custody. A bag in the Kia contained $1,273 worth of cologne and perfume.

The State-Journal Register noted that a judge still has the power to keep people who are charged with a “forcible felony offense” like treason, robbery and threat of violence against any individual, to name a few.

Both women are scheduled for arraignment on Nov. 9.

“Last night’s arrest was another outstanding example of pro-active policing,” Strockis said. “The Oak Brook Police Department will continue to aggressively address crimes in our jurisdiction and throughout DuPage County. I’d like to thank all the police agencies that assisted us as well as DuPage County State’s Attorney Bob Berlin’s office.”

Berlin joined other Illinois state's attorneys in calling for a revision to the Pretrial Fairness Act, a provision of the SAFE-T Act scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, in a guest column he wrote for the Daily Herald in September. Berlin wrote that rather than enabling judges to use their discretion to determine whether a defendant should be detained pre-trial, the Pretrial Fairness Act "strips judges of their responsibility to both the defendant and the public by disallowing a judge from considering each case on its own merits and applying the law accordingly. Under the new SAFE-T Act, entire categories of crime, such as aggravated batteries, robberies, burglaries, hate crimes, aggravated DUIs, drug induced homicides, all drug offenses, including delivery of fentanyl and trafficking cases, are not eligible for detention regardless of the severity of the crime or a person's risk to a specific person or the community, unless prosecutors prove by clear and convincing evidence the person has a 'high likelihood of willful flight to avoid prosecution.'" Berlin said that a prior failure to appear in court is not enough evidence to constitute a "high likelihood of willful flight."

Berlin said that New Jersey implemented a cashless bail system in 2017 while still allowing judges to determine whether a defendant should be detained before trial if prosecutors can prove "the defendant will not appear in court, the defendant poses a danger to any other person or the community or the defendant will obstruct or attempt to obstruct justice, or threaten, injure, intimidate, or attempt to threaten, injure, or intimidate a prospective witness or juror." 

Berlin called on the legislature to amend the Pretrial Fairness Act to make it more similar to New Jersey's process. He concluded, "The fact is, by determining that certain violent crimes do not qualify for pretrial detention, regardless of a defendant's danger to the community, the Illinois General Assembly has removed judicial discretion from the equation and imposed their own will instead."