DuPage County State’s Attorney Bob Berlin seems to be making a statement: DuPage County will aggressively enforce gun laws using whatever means available.
In the last month or so, Berlin’s office has secured criminal charges and obtained “denied bail” verdicts for seven convicted felons caught by police allegedly with loaded weapons in their possession.
The most recent incident occurred last Thursday, when Naperville police pulled over a vehicle with tinted windows for allegedly failing to signal when changing lanes. As the officer approached the vehicle, he observed the driver allegedly moving about the front interior of the car. Upon making contact with the driver, the officer allegedly observed a strong odor of cannabis coming from the vehicle. It is alleged that following a search of the vehicle, the officer found a backpack in the front seat of the vehicle containing a loaded Polymer 80 9mm pistol (ghost gun), 34 pills of ecstasy, approximately one gram of heroin and approximately 140 grams of cannabis. The man, who was out on bond awaiting trial on Unlawful Use of a Weapon by a Felon and Aggravated Unlawful Use of a Weapon charges, was then taken into custody.
On Friday, Berlin announced that the accused, a 34-year-old Dolton man, had been charged with one count of Armed Habitual Criminal (Class X Felony), one count of Armed Violence (Class X Felony), one count of Possession of MDMA with Intent to Deliver (Class X Felony), one count of Possession of Heroin with Intent to Deliver (Class 1 Felony), one count of Unlawful Use of a Weapon by a Felon (Class 2 Felony) and one count of Unlawful Possession of Cannabis with Intent to Deliver (Class 3 Felony).
Berlin also announced that the State’s motion to deny bail for a convicted felon accused of illegally possessing a loaded firearm and illegal drugs was granted.
“It is alleged that instead of conducting himself within the legal limitations placed upon him due to his past criminal behavior, [the accused] thumbed his nose once again at the law and decided to not only illegally arm himself with an untraceable gun, but also possess illegal narcotics,” Berlin said. “This is the second time this week and the seventh time within one month that a DuPage County judge has denied bail for a defendant accused of serious crimes. To be blunt, the message coming from DuPage County is crystal clear, felons who illegally possess a gun will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
“This is the second time in as many days and the fifth time within one month that a DuPage County judge has denied bail for a defendant accused of serious crimes,” Berlin said in a statement after the most recent ruling. “Again, the message coming from DuPage County is crystal clear: career criminals are not welcome. Law enforcement throughout DuPage County remains vigilant and we will use every tool at our disposal to aggressively pursue and hold accountable anyone who would commit a crime while in DuPage County.”
Berlin’s stance stands in stark contrast to many jurisdictions around the country, particularly next-door Cook County, where Cook County Chief Judge Tim Evans and Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx have consistently refused to prosecute violations of the state’s gun laws, while aggressively pursuing low or no bail judgements for those who have been arrested.
It remains to be seen whether Berlin will be able to continue pursuing his “bail denied” policy once the state’s controversial new “Safe-T” legislation becomes effective on January 1 next year. That legislation, among other things, provides a long list of crimes for which bail will no longer be required for offenders. Prosecutors and law enforcement across the state have decried the new legislation, signed into law by Governor Pritzker early this year, as a damaging unfunded mandate that will cost municipalities enormous amounts of taxpayer money to implement, while simultaneously releasing more offenders back on the streets.
