Chicago City Wire

Chicago police are charging for some firearms-related felonies in Englewood without approval from the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office (CCSAO), according to a CWB Chicago report.

“Multiple sources say the ‘Felony Review Bypass Program’ began at midnight on Jan. 1 in the Englewood (7th) District,” the report said. “Neither CPD nor the state’s attorney’s office directly answered questions about the program, although both provided statements that did not deny its existence.”

A former deputy in the CCSAO’s Felony Review Unit (FRU) told Chicago City Wire that the policy change in Englewood was no surprise.

CPD Chief Larry Snelling | City of Chicago

“The Felony Review Unit already had a long-standing protocol of allowing the police to charge their own narcotics cases,” the former deputy, who asked not to be named, stated in an email. “It seems like a logical progression. But, I can guarantee that, since the police are not trained lawyers, they will end up charging a lot of cases with Motion issues.”

Motion issues could include motion to quash arrest due to lack of probable cause, a motion to suppress evidence for improper search and seizure, or a charge does not meet the elements of the statute.

“If approved by the assistant state’s attorneys [ASA], the police are guaranteed a good charge which should stand up in court,” the former deputy said. “The process is disliked by the police because they believe everything should be charged, and oftentimes get frustrated or angry with the ASA for rejecting their charge.”

The State’s Attorney’s office confirmed with City Wire that it was working closely with the Chicago Police Department “to implement policies to our felony review process that support public safety and justice. As we continue preliminary discussions with CPD, we are unable to further comment at this time.”

The CPD said that the initiative “is still being evaluated in collaboration between the Cook County State's Attorney's Office and CPD. The reduction of gun violence is at the forefront of this collaboration.”

CWB Chicago reported that it found four gun-related cases that Englewood officers directly filed on the program’s first day. Among them:

• Ulysses Long, 49, was allegedly found carrying three firearms in his waistband and pockets near a garage that was “littered with shell casings of multiple different calibers” around 1:25 a.m. on January 1, a CPD report said. Judge Susana Ortiz sent Long home with a nighttime curfew, rejecting a prosecution request to keep him in custody.
• Toval Frazier, 27, was charged with unlawful possession of a machine gun by a felon after officers allegedly found him sleeping in his car with a stolen handgun equipped with an extended magazine on the passenger seat. Prosecutors said the gun also had a switch that could convert it into a machine gun that generates automatic gunfire. Judge Ortiz granted the state’s detention request for Frazier.

The popular police blog, Second City Cop, called felony review “a mostly useless process where the ASA on duty demands more evidence, more interviews and labels cases ‘continuing investigation’ before dropping all charges or making the police charge misdemeanors. It allows [Cook County Sheriff Tom] Dart to empty out the jail and not actually hold prisoners.

“If we remember correctly, there isn't a ‘felony review’ in any county except Cook, where it exists simply to provide the politically connected bottom 20% of lawyers to make some money until they can run for office.”