Cook County Chief Judge announces changes to electronic monitoring program

Just over a month after Cook County Chief Judge Charles Beach ordered an urgent review of the county's electronic monitoring program, changes are being made in an effort to more quickly track down violators.

Beach ordered a review of the troubled electronic monitoring program in December, after a man with an ankle bracelet was accused of setting a woman on fire on a CTA Blue Line train, after repeatedly violating his monitoring in the days leading up to the attack.

Lawrence Reed had been arrested 70 times before that attack, and was violating the terms of his ankle monitor and curfew when he allegedly set 26-year-old Bethany MaGee on fire as she was reading through her phone on a Blue Line train in the Loop. Magee survived, but was critically injured.

A report on Reed showed the crime occurred after he had violated his curfew five times in the days leading up to the November attack, including just hours before the attack.

Reed has since been charged with committing a terrorist attack or other violence on a mass transportation system.

Under changes Beach has ordered for the county's electronic monitoring program, authorities will be alerted when someone on electronic monitoring is committing a major violation.

The new rules seek to possibly prevent repeat rule-breakers like Reed from slipping through the cracks.

They include triggering a "major violation" after three hours, rather than the previous 48 hours.

Those alerts will then go before the judge handling that violator's case on a 24/7 basis starting on Feb. 7, whereas before those cases only went before judges on weekdays.

Once notified of a major violation, a judge would decide if police need to be involved.

If a judge issues an arrest warrant in response to a major violation, the Cook County Sheriff's Office has agreed to expedite service of the warrant, and the Cook County Circuit Court Clerk's Office has agreed to place that case on the judge's court call within 24 hours.

"These updates reinforce the Court's commitment to timely judicial oversight and clear lines of responsibility," Beach said in a statement. "Electronic monitoring is a tool of the court, and these protocols help ensure violations are addressed promptly, transparently and consistent with judicial authority."

It's not clear if Reed had been in violation of his electronic monitoring rules for three hours or more at the time of the attack. The chief judge's office did not immediately respond to a request for clarification on that detail in Reed's case.