SKOKIE (WBBM Newsradio) -- Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker is again defending the Safe-T Act bail-reform law against new allegations that it's allowing potentially dangerous people to be released.
The comments are his first following Monday night's burn attack on a CTA Blue Line train that left a rider with critical burns. Federal prosecutors have charged 50-year-old Lawrence Reed in the case.
Court records show Reed has been arrested more than 20 times. Just last August, the website CWB Chicago reports prosecutors wanted him put on electronic monitoring after knocking a social worker unconscious inside a suburban hospital, but the judge rejected the request under Illinois' Safe-T Act.
During an appearance Friday afternoon at a small business along Main Street, the governor called the attack horrific, and said the Safe-T Act allows judges to use what he called "good judgment" to decide whether accused criminals should stay in custody.
"It's a better way, by the way, than bail," said Gov. Pritzker, "because bail is an automatic out for people who just happen to have enough money."
He did not specifically criticize the county judge who handled Reed's case, but noted that judges should also weigh a suspect's mental health history when deciding whether they should be detained.
"That's another aspect of what I think judges ought to take into consideration," said Pritzker. "I want to make sure that we are providing the kind of mental health that should be available."
He also said he's open to hearing any changes that would make the law better.