The Land of Lincoln’s no-cash bail law, passed in the dead of night with almost zero debate, has proven a boon for the bad guys. As for productive residents who still live in Illinois? Not so much.
Take, for instance, the man wanted for a road rage incident who fired shots at another driver. On the run for over a year, Darrius Wilson, now 32, had moved away from Chicago to escape the long arm of the law. The FBI’s ‘Really Bad Guys’ task force caught up with him in Florida and put him on a flight back to Chicago.
What happened after all that work? A judge cut him loose without even a requirement that he wear an ankle monitor.
From CWB Chicago . . .
More than a year after a judge signed an arrest warrant for a man wanted in connection with a road rage shooting on a Chicago expressway, an FBI task force arrested him in Florida. The Cook County Sheriff’s Police Department extradited him to Chicago. During his first court appearance, a Cook County judge rejected the state’s detention petition and released him again.
So goes the story of Darrius Wilson, the 32-year-old man officials say shot up another driver’s car after becoming angry while driving on December 14, 2022.
The victim, 41, was heading to work around 11:30 p.m. when a sporty black car almost struck him as he turned from 87th Street to State Street, according to an Illinois State Police case report. He honked to get the other driver’s attention and headed onto the inbound Dan Ryan Expressway.
As he approached 71st Street, he saw the black car “aggressively driving to catch up to him,” the report said. It pulled up on his passenger side, and he heard two pops that sounded like gunshots, he said. The black car exited at Marquette Road.
When he arrived at work, he discovered two “bullet defects” in his rear passenger door, according to the report. That’s when he called the police.
The zero bail law — a model of “restorative criminal justice” and equity — mandates release without posting bail for most all crimes. The initial language in the law indicated if the suspect is a danger to a specific individual, they could be held. Otherwise, they are to be released with a “notice to appear.”
So during the time of that original language, if you beat your significant other, you could be held until trial. If you killed your significant other, you could be released because you don’t pose a risk to any other specific individual person.
While the “make sure to kill your spouse” language was amended in follow-up legislation, the results remain nonsensical. And a boon to the criminal class.
Carjackers, armed robbers and road ragers who shoot at other drivers get released with at most an ankle bracelet that’s supposed to keep them at home overnight. On the other hand, if you pass a bogus $20 bill, then you will be detained until trial.