A Chicago city official has raised concerns over the state’s no-cash bail policy, claiming it has been “grossly exploited,” following an incident where a felon on pretrial release is accused of fatally shooting a police officer at a hospital.
On Monday, charges were filed against 27-year-old Alphanso Talley for the alleged murder of 38-year-old officer John Bartholomew of the Chicago Police Department at Swedish Hospital. The tragic event also left another officer wounded in the shooting.
The incident reportedly occurred at around 11 a.m. while Talley was in custody at the hospital for a previous armed robbery. According to prosecutors, as he was being escorted for a CT scan, Talley retrieved a concealed gun from under his blanket and opened fire on the officers.
Talley had been sought after allegedly robbing a Family Dollar store earlier that Saturday, where he is accused of assaulting a female employee with a gun, then stealing her wallet and keys.
Officer John Bartholomew was tragically shot and killed at Endeavor Health Swedish Hospital on Saturday. (Chicago Police Department)
Chicago Alderman Raymond Lopez, a member of the Democratic Party, expressed to Fox News Digital the urgent need to reassess the SAFE-T Act, the legislation responsible for abolishing cash bail in Illinois, particularly in light of the recent shooting involving an individual on pretrial release.
“It absolutely needs to be amended because I think while the intention was good, not forcing people to sit in jail because they couldn’t afford bond on minor crimes, it has been utterly manipulated and abused by dangerous violent repeat offenders who have no regard for the sanctity of human life, no regard for property, and no intention of ever following the law,” Lopez said.
Alphanso Talley’s prior convictions (Illinois Department of Corrections records):
- Possession/aiding and abetting a stolen motor vehicle (entered prison: Oct. 2, 2023)
- Aggravated battery of a peace officer (entered prison: Oct. 2, 2023)
- Unlawful use or possession of a firearm by a felon with a prior conviction (entered prison: July 19, 2021)
- Aggravated robbery — indicating while armed with a firearm (entered prison: Nov. 1, 2017)
- Aggravated robbery — indicating while armed with a firearm (entered prison: Nov. 1, 2017)
- Aggravated robbery — indicating while armed with a firearm (entered prison: Nov. 1, 2017)
- Aggravated robbery — indicating while armed with a firearm (entered prison: Nov. 1, 2017)
Prosecutors say Talley’s prior gun conviction from 2021 and four aggravated robbery convictions from 2017 make him eligible for a charge of unlawful possession of a weapon by a repeat offender.
Alphanso Talley was charged with murder after allegedly shooting two police officers. (Cook County Sheriff’s Office)
When Talley was accused of murdering Bartholomew and shooting another officer, he was out of jail on pretrial release for a previous armed robbery case.
A warrant for his arrest was issued on March 11 while he was on pretrial release for the alleged armed robbery after he had two electronic monitor violations in early March, according to court documents.
Judge John Lyke has presided over Talley’s criminal cases for at least three years, according to ABC7 News, noting that he said during a December hearing that “It appears [Talley’s] mind is finally developing, and he may be on the path to making better decisions.”
According to those records, Talley first got an electronic monitor last year on Dec. 11, but his monitor alerted two violations within three days in early March.
Lopez said people like Talley don’t deserve to get pretrial release, arguing he should have remained locked up until his trial.
“Those individuals do not deserve to enjoy any kind of sympathy from us, the law-abiding citizens of Illinois, after they commit their fourth, fifth, eighth, twelfth, seventieth crimes, because what they’ve already shown us is a willingness to continue the pattern of illegal criminal violent behavior,” Lopez said.
Chicago police officers stand outside a nearby hospital awaiting updates on two fellow officers who were shot during a prisoner transport incident at Swedish Hospital in Chicago, United States, on April 25, 2026. A suspect was taken into custody following a brief manhunt in the surrounding neighborhood. (Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Part of the issue, Lopez argues, is that judges aren’t correctly using someone’s criminal history when making a determination on if someone should remain in jail until their trial.
“Judges are not seeing the full breadth and scope of what’s going on in someone’s criminal history — or they’re not allowed to use that in making their determination. And that is what is allowing these individuals who oftentimes have multiple arrests to go and get electronic monitoring and be sent home,” he said.
Retired Chicago Police Chief of Detectives Eugene Roy told Fox News Digital that this incident is a glaring example showing why Illinois’ no-cash bail law needs to be changed, and how the system failed Bartholomew.
“Here’s a guy who’s accused of a violent crime and armed robbery and he’s allowed back out on the streets and then he cuts off his electronic monitoring device. And that is a deliberate act that calls for revocation of the bond,” Roy said.
Talley was charged with murder, attempted murder, aggravated unlawful restraint, armed robbery, aggravated discharge of a firearm, possession of a firearm by a felon, aggravated battery of a peace officer, aggravated battery, escape and unlawful use of a weapon.
