Cook County sheriff wants to end electronic monitoring program: 'We can't do it safely'

COOK COUNTY, Ill. (WLS) -- Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart wants to get out of the electronic monitoring business. He says because of a provision of the Illinois SAFE-T Act, he is unable to properly ensure public safety.

There is some pushback on the move, and it's coming from the Chief Judge in Cook County.

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The Cook County Sheriff is charged with locking up pre-trial defendants who judges deem too dangerous to release. But, there are another 1,500 who are sent home with electronic monitoring bracelets that allow the sheriff's department to track their movements 24 hours a day. Those defendants are often allowed to leave their homes for school, work or other activities. The sheriff uses geofencing to make sure those individuals stay within their allowed areas.

However, Sheriff Dart says defendants, who are allowed two days a week to move freely under the SAFE-T Act, are using that freedom to commit crimes.

"And sure enough, we've had over 200 people charged, mind you, with new crimes, gun offenses, you know, shootings, you name it, and those are just the ones we know of how many other ones we don't know," Dart said. "The devices are off."

Technically, defendants' movements on their "free" days are still monitored as the sheriff's department, but the alerts to the sheriff's department are silenced.

Dart, frustrated by the system, is ready to get out of the electronic monitoring business.

"So it's like, I'm not going to continue to, you know, do this nonsense of saying, 'Oh, yeah, we're running this,'" Dart said. "No, we can't do it safely. We need to stop doing it."

While the Chief Judge's office also run's an electronic monitoring system, he does not want to take on the entire responsibility. But there's no law to prevent Dart from stepping away.

"But I say that the legislature should change that law and make him responsible," Cook County Circuit Court Chief Judge Tim Evans said. "I think it's an abdication of his responsibility to step away, and I think it gives less protection to our citizens and to the public for him to step away."

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Supporters of the SAFE-T Act say the law is not the problem.

"There are always going to be unique situations where someone is re-arrested," said Sharlyn Grace with the Cook County Public Defender's Office. "That doesn't mean a program is a failure."

Grace contends most people on electronic monitoring are abiding by the requirements. The sheriff remains unswayed.

As of April 1, pending any action by lawmakers, Dart will begin phasing the sheriff's department out of the electronic monitoring business. It remains to be seen whether this will result in more people being locked up or just released without monitoring pending trial.