Releasing more detainees from Cook Country Jail on electronic monitoring will simply mean more crimes being committed in communities already inundated by criminality.
Are there some detainees who could be released on electronic monitoring while awaiting trial? Yes, but identifying them is the conundrum.
I suggest that only non-violent detainees who are not gang members and have no prior felony arrests (except for drug sales) be selected, otherwise cost of temporary incarceration will not be balanced against public safety.
The necessity to alleviate overcrowding at Cook County Jail does not trump the safety and security of taxpayers and their communities. Any failure could cost the life of a citizen!
— Ballard J. Powell, Retired Supervisor, Stateville Correctional Center, Chicago
