Nearly 1 in 12 defendants on ankle monitors in Chicago have gone AWOL, authorities say

Nearly 1 in 12 criminal defendants released pre-trial on ankle monitors in Chicago have gone AWOL, and authorities have no idea where they are, even as some in the program allegedly go on to commit violent crimes.

Data from the Circuit Clerk of Cook County shows that 246 out of 3,048 defendants released pre-trial and placed on ankle monitoring are missing and aren't actively wearing their ankle monitor. Several individuals released pre-trial have gone on to allegedly commit violent crimes, like Alphanso Talley, who's accused of murdering Chicago Police Department Officer John Bartholomew.

Hundreds of defendants on pre-trial release through the ankle monitor program accused of violent crimes:

Cook County Chief Judge Charles Beach ABC7 News. Records indicated that Talley first got an electronic monitor on Dec. 11, 2025, but his monitor alerted two violations within three days in early March.

"I wouldn’t call it a mistake," Beach said. "The judge made the best decision with what was in front of them at the time, right? Unfortunately, you know, we’ll go back to that concept: How do you predict what another human being is going to do?"

Talley is hardly the only person accused of committing a violent crime while on the ankle monitor program.

In November 2025, repeat offender Lawrence Reed, 50, allegedly lit a woman on fire while on the city's blue line train, yelling "burn b----."

Reed was charged with aggravated battery in August 2025, but was released pre-trial with an ankle monitor, against prosecutors' wishes.

Reed has been arrested at least 13 times by the Chicago Police Department since 2017, records indicate.

Marlon Miller, 40, was arrested in December 2025 after he allegedly attacked three women in the downtown area and was charged with three felony counts of aggravated battery in a public place, according to SAFE-T act along with the state's move to cashless bail isn't making the county less safe.

"When monetary bail existed, we had people who posted monetary bail who went out and committed atrocious offenses. It happened. It happened frequently. We no longer have monetary bail. We have other factors. Those things are still happening, right? That is the nature of a system that is designed with the presumption of innocence," Beach said.