Zero Bail Follies: Chicago Has a New Poster Boy for Criminal Justice Reform

The brain trust that is the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus effectively runs the Illinois General Assembly. Countless times, they and their supporters have spoken passionately about the moral imperative of not sending black and brown people to prison. Even habitual violent offenders who prey on other black and brown people.

One man in particular has now stepped forward to serve as an unofficial poster child for kind of so-called “criminal justice reform” that is now the law of the land in Illinois.

Meet Torrey Lewis (above). He’s running free while facing trial on 160 counts of murder (yes, that’s apparently correct), 16 counts of attempted carjacking and nine counts of armed robbery. No mention of any partridges in pear trees.

Cops found him yesterday leaking due to a gunshot wound while sitting in the driver’s seat of a stolen car behind an auto parts store. He had a rifle and a handgun in the passenger seat next to him. And his ankle monitor bracelet firmly attached to his leg.

Cops say he reached speeds of 100mph in suburban streets as he drove to get there.  Maybe he was in a hurry to get shot.  Who knows.

From CWB Chicago . . .

A man on electronic monitoring while awaiting trial on murder and carjacking charges was shot while driving a stolen car with firearms inside the vehicle, officials said Wednesday.

Incredibly, this is the second time that Torrey Lewis has been accused of possessing firearms while on electronic monitoring for the same 2017 murder and carjacking case. The previous gun charges, which we told you about in April 2022, ended with a judge finding him not guilty during a bench trial.

Lewis is facing more than 160 counts of murder in the still-pending murder case in which a disabled man was shot to death while sitting in his wheelchair outside a suburban movie theater as his girlfriend looked on.

New Allegations
Around 10 a.m. on January 31, Lewis was enjoying his “free movement day” — one of two days each week that people on electronic monitoring (EM) in Illinois are allowed to be out of the house under a 2022 law that some people consider “criminal justice reform.” Legislators who supported the measure said it was necessary so people on EM could do “essential activities” like going to a doctor or getting food.

In Illinois it’s apparently acceptable to (allegedly) murder someone, carjack someone, and commit armed robbery…and be released without posting a dime for bail. Sure he had an ankle monitor, but those being monitored are allowed two days of free travel each week.

And Chicago wonders why it has a violent crime problem.

To add insult to injury, Mr. Lewis will not be taken to jail on these latest charges of illegally possessing firearms.  He’s been issued a “Notice To Appear” on the new charges.

Again, Chicago wonders why it has a crime problem.

Here’s more on how the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus has done what it can to keep black and brown predators out of jail and prison…and their victims in fear for their lives.

From Northwestern University . . .

“They’re [Black Caucus was] very strategic that everything in here [Pre-Trial Fairness Act] had an equity purpose, to affect what we know – that Black and brown people are disproportionately arrested, searched, brought into the system, then held in the system. This is one of the most important racial equity bills ever, in the whole country,” [former Cook County public defender Amy] Campanelli said.

The ILBC has had no shortage of legislative successes, including the so-called “SAFE-T” Act and the “Pre-Trial Fairness Act” which eliminated cash bail for those arrested and waiting for trial.

At the same time they did their best to ensure more accused criminals would remain on the street, Illinois Democrats also passed the so-called “Protect Illinois Communities Act” which banned popular self-defense firearms and the magazines that feed them for law-abiding residents of the state.

Couple this with true-believing Soros-funded prosecutors like Cook County’s Kim Foxx and it has emptied emptied jails. More criminals now run free and ply their trade with impunity.

As you’d expect, serious violent crime continues to rise, despite what carnival barker Governor JB Pritzker claims. In fact, Pritzker says that it’s down three years running.

Here in the real world . . .

‘What is he smoking?’ Illinois Dem Gov. JB Pritzker is slammed for claiming violent crime is FALLING in Windy City after it was hit by another nine armed robberies

Illinois‘s Democrat Governor is under fire for wrongly claiming that crime rates are ‘coming down’ in Chicago after the city faced at least 36 armed robberies over Thanksgiving weekend alone.

Another wave of armed robberies was reported by Chicago police overnight after nine more people became victims of vicious attacks.

Monday night’s outbreak of frightening violent crime came after a whopping 20 robberies happened in the city just on Sunday.

Governor JB Pritzker, 58, offered a bizarre response to the wave of terrifying events – saying that violent crime has actually ‘been coming down,’ which prompted CBS Chicago to ask ‘what is our governor smoking?’.

Violent crime is in fact up a staggering 18.3 percent since 2019 – so it’s unclear where Pritzker got the misinformation from or why he would believe that crime is on the decline in the crime-ridden city of Chicago.

Crime is out of control in Chicago and elected officials choose not to acknowledge what their policies have done to encourage it. Bandits brazenly rob people day and (especially at) night.

In short, Chicago isn’t a safe city. It’s just like a whole lot of other deep blue cities enjoying Soros-funded, equity-centric prosecutors and defund-the-police politicians…only more so.

Always be carrying. The life you save might be your own.