Case Study S. J.

Charge: Criminal Trespassing

Days in Jail: 126 days

Cost to taxpayers: $18,019

  • 26 arrests – 9 bookings into the Cook County Jail – a total of 591 days spent in jail at a collective housing cost of $84,513.

    In other words, S.J. has spent over a quarter of the last 4 years in jail.

  • 49-year-old S.J.’s most recent arrest occurred on December 2, 2014 for Criminal Trespass to Real Property. Bond was set at $10,000 on this case. She has been in custody for 126 days – over 4 months – on this case alone. The housing cost for this booking so far is over $18,019. She was found psychologically unfit to stand trial by the court and is currently awaiting placement at the Department of Mental Health.
  • All but two of S.J.’s past bookings have been for Criminal Trespass to Real Property at a variety of locations – a parking garage, Walgreen’s, yards outside of private residences, and public parks. These cases have been resolved with a variety of outcomes: Stricken off/Leave to Reinstate (4), Time Considered Served (2), and Ordered to the Department of Mental Health (2).
  • Behavioral Clinical Exams have been ordered for S.J. in past cases. She has either been found unfit to stand trial or fit to stand trial with medication.
  • In many cases, S.J. is released on an I-Bond and subsequently either fails to show up to court or gets re-arrested. She is then booked back into Cook County Jail and given additional charges for Violation of Bail Bond.