Chicago City Wire

Cook County Judge Kelly McCarthy is being accused of purposefully “forgetting” to start her YouTube channel. On March 28, McCarthy was back at it.  

“Since she did it yet AGAIN today, I'll just go ahead and call out Judge Kelly McCarthy by name on this,” CWBChicago said on Twitter. 

CWBChicago noted her behavior on March 17. 

“I'm now convinced that a certain bond court judge intentionally "forgets" to start her YouTube stream to minimize scrutiny of her work…” the organization tweeted a the time. 

In November 2021, McCarthy was noted for her criminal-friendly behavior. During one session, McCarthy was noted to have let 22 defendants leave on recognizance bonds. On several of those occasions, she overrode prosecutor requests to hold those accused of serious crimes, such as a man who was alleged to have beat, stomped, and choked his pregnant girlfriend. It was dubbed by the publication as an eye-popping performance.

"But that’s not all," CWBChicago further reported. "In one case, even though nobody asked for it, McCarthy took the unprecedented step of ordering a robbery victim to show up in court to be served with an order to protect the man who allegedly robbed her at gunpoint."

The problems with the bond court, where McCarthy works, have been noted. In mid-March, one of the court’s participants was arrested after shooting into a restaurant after being let out on bond.  

This concern did not escape Riverside Police Chief Tom Weitzel, who said that "the fact that Mr. Noah was out on electric monitoring highlights the problems with bond court. [The] man fired [a] gun into restaurant ceiling while on electronic monitoring for more than 27 felonies including home invasion, carjacking and kidnapping."

The courtroom live streams for the Illinois Circuit Court of Cook County can be accessed from its website.