During the first detention hearing after the SAFE-T Act went into effect, Madison County Associate Judge Ryan Jumper granted a petition by State’s Attorney Tom Haine to detain a Swansea man while he awaits trial on charges of aggravated stalking
“As everyone knows, the system that previously sought to ensure justice and victim safety has been upended,” Haine said. “But as today’s result shows, we are going to do our very best to use all available tools under the new system to ensure the safety of everyone in Madison County. As such, we’ll be filing many more detention petitions and presenting our arguments at hearings like the one held [Sept. 19].”
Defendant Matthew S. Kelly, 34, was charged on Sept. 18 with one count of aggravated stalking, a class 3 felony, and one count of criminal damage to property, a class 4 felony.
According to court documents, Kelly first slashed the victim’s tires on Aug. 22-23. He was served with an order of protection on Aug. 23, which prohibited contact with the victim. He then called the victim from the Madison County jail.
Then on Aug. 30, Kelly posted bond and was released from custody.
On Sept. 17, he appeared at the victim’s residence. He allegedly spray painted her Chevrolet Tahoe, sent threatening text messages indicating he intended to kill the victim and placed a tracking device in the victim’s gas cap.
A detention petition hearing was held on Sept. 19, where Assistant State’s Attorney Ryan Kemper argued that Kelly poses an ongoing threat to the victim after violating an already existing order of protection against him.
“Stalking or aggravated stalking and the defendant’s pretrial release poses a real and present threat to the safety of a victim for the alleged offense, and denial of release is necessary to prevent fulfillment of the threat upon which the charge is based,” the petition states.
Kelly’s counsel had asked that he be released or placed on electronic monitoring.
Jumper ordered that Kelly be detained while awaiting trial.
“We’re well-prepared and will make the best of this situation,” Haine said. “The staff of the State’s Attorney’s Office has worked very hard to meet this challenge: conducting research, mapping out new workflows, and holding meetings with law enforcement agencies and the courts. I appreciate all their hard work on behalf of victims of crime in Madison County.”
Kemper is the Chief of the Warrant Division within the State’s Attorney’s Office, which has been “re-tooled” with additional staff to coordinate all pretrial detention issues required under the SAFE-T Act.
The SAFE-T Act went into effect on Sept. 18 after a stay on the law expired, which was established by the Illinois Supreme Court in response to a constitutional challenge by Kankakee County State’s Attorney James Rowe, a Republican, and Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow, a Democrat. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of more than 60 state’s attorneys and sheriffs from counties throughout the state, including Haine. The law was originally supposed to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2023, before the stay was issued.
The state’s attorneys argued that the law jeopardizes public safety by allowing criminals to remain free and potentially continue to commit crime while they await trial. They also argued that the law scrapped the state’s monetary bail system without a constitutional amendment.
In a 5-2 ruling, the Illinois Supreme Court - with a Democratic supermajority - sided with Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul when it rejected the constitutional challenge on July 18.
Illinois courts now have 60 days to comply with the provisions of the SAFE-T Act.