244 defendants gone missing in Chicagoland

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Summary: Cook County, Illinois, has lost track of 244 defendants on ankle monitors — exactly 8% of the 3,048 people currently enrolled in the program. Officials declare someone AWOL after they miss curfew, fail to charge the device, or lose the signal. The revelation comes weeks after a man on electronic monitoring allegedly killed Chicago Police Officer John Bartholomew. Chief Judge Charles Beach II is now cracking down and actively pursuing the missing individuals.

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Nearly one in every 12 people wearing an ankle bracelet while awaiting trial has gone missing, according to new data released by the chief judge. Chicago-area residents learned this week just how fragile the county’s pretrial electronic monitoring system has become.

Cook County currently tracks 3,048 defendants through the program. An 8 percent absence-without-leave rate means roughly 244 individuals with active criminal cases—most of them felonies—have dropped off the grid. Officials classify someone as AWOL after they miss curfew by three hours, let the bracelet battery die, or lose the signal. Defendants are responsible for charging the device themselves, a basic requirement that clearly isn’t being met in hundreds of cases.

The timing of this disclosure feels especially heavy. In late April, Alphonso Talley, a repeat felon assigned to electronic monitoring for a carjacking charge, allegedly cut off contact, robbed a dollar store, and then opened fire at Swedish Hospital. He killed Chicago Police Officer John Bartholomew and gravely wounded his partner. Talley had been one of those unaccounted-for defendants.

Chief Judge Charles Beach II, who has led the court for only six months, inherited a program long criticized for weak oversight. He took charge of it in April 2025 after the sheriff stepped back, then ordered a full review and tightened the definition of serious violations. Beach says the public deserves straight answers and insists his office is now hunting down every missing person with active warrants.

Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke called the numbers “alarming” while praising the new openness. She has warned for years that the system struggles to supervise people charged with serious violence.

For everyday Chicagoans, the takeaway is simple: technology meant to keep dangerous defendants in the community has left hundreds untraceable. Whether this reflects poor compliance, enforcement gaps, or deeper flaws in pretrial release policies, the data leaves little room for comfort. Officials promise fixes, but families across the county are left hoping the next headline isn’t another preventable tragedy.

The most effective and efficient method of tracking defendents is to keep them incarcerated.

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Defendents are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

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CWB Chicago: 8% of electronic monitoring participants have gone missing
NBC Chicago: Hundreds missing from electronic monitoring program
CBS Chicago: 8% of people on electronic monitoring are AWOL
WGN Investigates: Electronic monitoring system questions