Fifty-nine people were shot in Chicago over the Aug. 2 weekend, and seven of the victims died. State Rep. David McSweeney (R-Barrington Hills) took to Twitter and the internet to let people know about the weekend’s violence in Chicago.
“The time is now to take bold action to stop the violence in Chicago!” McSweeney tweeted.
McSweeney is concerned that bail is set too low for gang members who are arrested with guns. Low bails make it too easy for gang members to raise bail and get their members back on the streets, McSweeney said
“We need to eliminate bail eligibility for violent gang members and enhance penalties for criminals who use a gun while committing a crime,” McSweeney tweeted and posted on the McHenry County blog.
On Aug. 5, Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson unveiled a new website called Gun Offender Dashboard that tracks people arrested for crimes involving guns in Chicago. It shows who has been released on bond and what their bond amount was.
The lead page of the dashboard showed that 700 of the more than 1,100 people arrested in Chicago on gun charges between May 1 and the end of July had been released on bond.
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