Sophie Sherry’s article on suspects of domestic and sexual abuse was insightful (“Bail reform can protect victims of domestic, sexual violence, activists say”).
Yet, like other mandates within the Pretrial Fairness Act, it will be difficult to monitor defendants, counsel victims and keep the abused apprised of defendant releases. Advocates of the law have not addressed the administrative nightmares that will be imposed on court officers and law enforcement personnel in general.
The law mandates multiple new duties and actions from the criminal courts. Cook County has one of the largest unified criminal court systems in the world. The difficult burdens fall on prosecutors to demonstrate a defendant accused of domestic abuse should be detained.
As Sherry writes, a hearing must take place. Yet it has been widely reported the Cook County state’s attorney’s office is already understaffed. Anyone who maintains prosecutors will have time for additional hearings and time to counsel domestic abuse victims and prosecute other criminal offenses is either uninformed or is being disingenuous.
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The law is not an “easy read,” and there will be initial confusion with respect to its implementation. Mistakes will be made, and defendants will inadvertently be released. The additional administrative work demanded by the law, coupled with staff shortages within the criminal justice system, will not guarantee the safety of domestic abuse victims.
As advocates of bail reform claim, victims may be better protected “if prosecutors and judges take full advantage of the law.” The law exacts so many additional and different demands on prosecutors and judges that the reviews of domestic violence cases may not get the extra scrutiny the law permits.
Terry Takash, Western Springs
Respect for Romney and era of civility
U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney’s retirement announcement is a sad moment in American politics. He is one of the last decent civil men to bow out of the game. He was part of an era where civility was the standard regardless of party.
This Democrat voted for former President Barack Obama twice. But I never developed animosity toward Romney. The same was true for George W. Bush, his father, George H.W. Bush, Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford.
After Jimmy Carter left the White House in 1981, he and Ford developed a personal friendship despite having been presidential rivals. Former U.S. House Speaker Tip O’Neill and Reagan were political rivals. But they never viewed each other with hatred and animosity.
Former U.S. Sens. Bob Dole and George Mitchell, the two party leaders in the Senate in the late 1980s and 1990s, disagreed politically, but it was never a grudge match personally. Bill Clinton went on to have a friendship with George W. Bush and his father after beating George H.W. Bush in the 1992 presidential election.
Romney heard boos and his family received vicious emails and phone calls from the MAGA Donald Trump fanatics. To the MAGA Trumpsters, the Democratic Party isn’t merely the loyal opposition. They are the enemy and must be treated as such, as you would treat foreign enemies like Russia and China.
Herb Vermaas, Salem
