Cook County Report Reveals 8% of Electronic Monitoring Participants Are Unaccounted For

A recent report released by the Chief Judge of Cook County reveals that 8% of individuals on electronic monitoring are currently unaccounted for.

This disclosure is part of a broader initiative aimed at increasing transparency regarding the electronic monitoring program, particularly after a series of violent incidents involving monitored individuals.

ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch

The report outlines that out of 3,048 participants in the program, 244 individuals, most of whom are facing felony charges, are not adhering to the program’s requirements.

On Tuesday, Cook County Chief Judge Charles Beach II stated, “The public deserves to know how this program functions, what the data indicates, and the measures we are taking daily to enhance its effectiveness.”

The release of this data follows requests for information after the tragic incident on April 25, where Chicago Police Officer John Bartholomew was fatally shot and his partner injured while guarding a suspect at Swedish Hospital.

Prosecutors have accused Alphonso Talley, a felon facing four pending felony charges who had absconded from electronic monitoring in April, of shooting the officers. This incident prompted the Cook County state’s attorney to criticize the monitoring program.

“Electronic monitoring system is broken. It does not work,” Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke said at the time.

Beach has redefined a “major violation” as an unapproved absence of three hours or more, down from the previous threshold of 48 hours. And his office said just 4% of program participants were considered AWOL before the new protocols took effect on Jan. 28 but noted that the definition of AWOL was more lenient then.

READ MORE | Swedish Hospital shooting: Man faces judge who put him on electronic monitoring before cop’s murder