CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - Mayor Lori Lightfoot is ruffling some legal feathers with comments Monday criticizing courts for letting people out on bond or home monitoring if they’re accused of violent crimes.
Mayor Lightfoot said there’s a reason there’s more violence in the streets. She said criminals feel there’s no accountability, so they feel emboldened. She said those charged with violent crimes should be locked up until their trials.
“Given the exacting standards that the State’s Attorney has for charging a case, which is proof beyond a reasonable doubt, when those charges are brought, these people are guilty,” Lightfoot argued.
She wants people accused of violent crimes to be held in jail until their cases are decided.
“If we hold violent, dangerous people accountable, we will see a significant drop in the violence in our cities,” Lightfoot said.
Too often, the mayor said criminal court judges allow accused violent people to go free on bond or electronic monitoring.
“No one is going to feel safe as long as those folks are back out on the street 24 or 48 hours later after they go through bond court. It’s madness and it doesn’t make sense,” the mayor said.
The ACLU told the Tribune that it’s sad to see a highly trained lawyer and former prosecutor like the mayor so badly mangle the meaning of our Constitution. The mayor went on to say.
“Of course, they’re entitled to a presumption of innocence. Of course, they’re entitled to their day in court but residents in our community are also entitled to safety from dangerous people,” said Lightfoot.
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