Gee, here's a liberal who thinks cash bail is bad except when HE’S the victim.

https://www.sj-r.com/story/new...ingfield/4747730001/

New Berlin man arrested after allegedly pointing a gun at state senator from Chicago

Dean Olsen
State Journal-Register
Update 6:20PM CT March 18, 2021

A Chicago lawmaker says he feared for his life after being threatened with a gun while driving this week in Springfield.

Adding to the trauma and loss of sleep, state Sen. Elgie Sims said Thursday, was the fact that the man who allegedly threatened him Monday night was released from the Sangamon County Jail the next day after posting $15,000 bail.

“By him being released on bail, he’s free to do this again,” Sims said.

Sims was the Senate sponsor of legislation that will eliminate the state’s cash-bail system in two years. The legislation, which Gov. JB Pritzker signed in February, is designed to eliminate what many Democratic lawmakers call a bail system that unfairly benefits people with means and penalizes people for being poor because they often can’t afford to post bail.

Sims, 50, a Democrat, told The State Journal-Register that he thinks the man who threatened him would have been detained and remained behind bars if the court system, as the new law will require, had to perform a more thorough analysis on whether releasing a suspect would pose a risk to public safety.

“I think it’s a perfect example of how cash bail doesn’t make people more safe,” Sims said in a phone interview as the Illinois Senate met in-person in Springfield.

The man arrested after the Monday night incident, Michael L. Hoyle, 54, of New Berlin, was booked into the jail on preliminary charges of unlawful use of a weapon, possession of a firearm despite having a revoked Firearm Owners Identification card, aggravated assault/use of a deadly weapon and possession of ammunition with no valid FOID card.

Sangamon County State’s Attorney Dan Wright said he is awaiting reports from police detectives before making a final decision on charges against Hoyle.

Sims said the incident began about 8:15 p.m. Monday after he left the Stratton Office Building, where he underwent a test for COVID-19 in advance of Senate sessions and committee meetings later in the week.

He said he was westbound on Lawrence Avenue, headed to a home he owns on the city’s west side, and was talking with his wife by phone on a Bluetooth device when his wife told him that she heard a beeping sound in the background.

It turned out that a man later identified as Hoyle was driving behind Sims and was beeping his horn and turning his lights off and on, according to Sims.

“He was riding the horn, then cut in front of me and slammed on his brake on Lawrence a couple blocks before the dip in the road next to Pasfield Golf Course,” Sims said.

“There were a million things going through my mind,” Sims said. “I didn’t know what this was, where he came from, how long he had been behind me, how dangerous he was, and whether he was trying to stop me so other cars could come out.”

Sims said he slammed on his brakes to avoid hitting the rear of the Chevy pickup truck Hoyle was driving, then hung up on his wife and called “911.” Sims, a lawyer, also took a picture with his phone of the Chevy’s license plate.

The pickup pulled to the right side of the road and Sims, while still on the phone with a 911 operator, said he pulled up along Hoyle’s left side, rolled down his window, made eye contact with Hoyle and said, “‘I’m on the phone with 911 and so I want you to know the police are on their way.’ That’s when he pulls out a handgun and points the gun at me and says, ‘Let’s go.’”

Sims said he thought to himself, “‘Let’s go? Oh my god.’”

Sims said he pressed the accelerator on his SUV and headed west on Lawrence to get away from Hoyle, then turned left, or south, onto Chatham Road on the city’s west side.

Sims said he made a U-turn to turn around and double-check a street sign to inform the 911 operator of his location. Sims said he then noticed that Hoyle, who had proceeded west on Lawrence — just past the intersection — turned back onto Chatham’s southbound lanes.

“He turned around and started chasing me again,” Sims said.

Sims said he made a U-turn so he could flee Hoyle. As Sims was driving south on Chatham, he said he saw Hoyle hold the gun outside the car but not fire the weapon.

Sims said Hoyle turned west onto Old Jacksonville Road, and Sims proceeded to the parking lot of Schnucks supermarket on Montvale Drive, as directed by the 911 operator, to meet with a Jerome police officer.

Hoyle was stopped by Springfield police shortly afterward without incident, Springfield Police Deputy Chief Joshua Stuenkel said.

Police were unaware of a motive for Hoyle's alleged behavior, Stuenkel said.

“At this time, we don’t have any evidence to indicate that the suspect was targeting the victim because of his position,” Stuenkel said.

Hoyle is white and Sims is Black. When asked whether race or Sims’ status as a lawmaker had anything to do with the incident, Sims said he thinks his legislative license plates may have played a role.

“I know that when he got directly behind me and got the clear view of the back of my car — my license plates are clearly displayed — I know that he got more aggressive when he got directly behind my car,” Sims said. “The inference I make is that when he saw those legislative plates, it kicked in for him.”

Sims said he wasn't hurt but has lost sleep since Monday night. He said he was continuing his legislative duties Thursday in Springfield.

“The trauma does not just extend to me,” he said. “My wife has not slept a full night since this happened. Those traumas are real.”

Sims said he had nothing but praise for the way police handled the incident and treated him with respect and empathy.

Hoyle is listed as president and owner of Kwik-Wall Co., 4650 Industrial Ave., Springfield, a supplier of movable walls and partitions, according to the company's website. Hoyle's home address is listed in Illinois secretary of state records, where he is identified as a manager and agent of Kwik Wall Property Management Co., LLC.

Hoyle didn't return a phone message Thursday.


Contact Dean Olsen: dolsen@gannett.com; (217) 836-1068; twitter.com/DeanOlsenSJR.

Well, looks like he kicked himself up his 0wn ass.

Why waste a round? A use a garrote & pull his ass out the window. No mess, no disturbing the peace.

So he’s essentially saying two of their laws do not work what so ever. Bail reform and the stupid FOID card. Who could have ever guessed a criminal wouldn’t pay attention to the law. Just shocking.

quote:

Hoyle is white and Sims is Black. When asked whether race or Sims’ status as a lawmaker had anything to do with the incident, Sims said he thinks his legislative license plates may have played a role.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Likely story. This guy is from Chiraq. He should know how to deal with a guy like this. Legislataive plates come on! I do not think we have the full story.

quote:

his wife told him that she heard a beeping sound in the background.

quote:

“I didn’t know how long he had been behind me

Someone on the phone has to tell him the guy behind him is honking his horn? Clueless fuck. Distracted driver being a menace on the road.

a wasted opportunity to reduce the population by one

This seems to be an almost universal response from politicians everywhere.
They could care less how their actions could affect the general public and often make (or overlook) laws for their own political agenda or gain.
Once a law directly concerns them, then stop the world.
Sort of like, let the rioters take over Portland and destroy the lives of local residents and business owners if it conforms with their agenda. That's OK with them.
But the second their boat gets rocked, like the capitol breach, then everyone must be held accountable.
This guy probably could care less that every week honest residents in Chicago are held hostage to real criminals.

Last one out of Illinois, turn off the light!

quote:

Originally posted by nhtagmember:
a wasted opportunity to reduce the population by one

Which one?

The idiot. Isn’t it obvious?

Both ironic and hypocritical. A truly delicious combination.

quote:

Originally posted by nhtagmember:
The idiot. Isn’t it obvious?

Which idiot? Not sure either one looks particularly bright based on the limited information available.

quote:

Originally posted by Sigmund:
Gee, here's a liberal who thinks cash bail is bad except when HE’S the victim.
...

Actually, I think you completely misread the story. He thinks that cash bail is bad even when he's the victim. His point is that cash bail favors the rich over the poor, and as in this case, since the defendant had the cash, he got out. He thinks that focusing more on the suspect's potential risk would be more effective than simply asking if he has cash or not.

"Sims, 50, a Democrat, told The State Journal-Register that he thinks the man who threatened him would have been detained and remained behind bars if the court system, as the new law will require, had to perform a more thorough analysis on whether releasing a suspect would pose a risk to public safety."

I'm not saying he's right or wrong, but he is not being a hypocrite here. I don't know enough to have a strong opinion, but it does seem reasonable to me to base the decision of whether or not to release someone on bail more on the person's behavior than on his wealth.

quote:

I'm not saying he's right or wrong, but he is not being a hypocrite here. I don't know enough to have a strong opinion, but it does seem reasonable to me to base the decision of whether or not to release someone on bail more on the person's behavior than on his wealth.

Absolutely correct! As I see it, this is simply another aspect of the downhill slide (avalanche?) of our society. Who picks the judges who make these asinine decisions? Are they elected, or appointed?

In any case, it does not seem to be working very well.

The judges in Cook County are appointed and then elected. I'm serious here. Voting in Illinois is merely a formality that they do for appearance.

Glad someone finally posted that you guys were reading it wrong. Whether or not you agree with the man he isn’t being a hypocrite on this issue. He is also right that the cash bail system in this country is all kinds of fucked. You want a textbook example of the system fucking over the little guy, bail system it is. You literally force people to plead to lesser charges even if they are innocent because if they can’t bail themselves out then they sit in jail and wait for their day in court. All while losing their job, their wife, their house, their car, etc. Its a fucked up system. Or how about this? I had a relative, retired LEO doing security work, job goes sideways and him and about a dozen other security types get nailed with 27 felony charges apiece and nearly a million dollars bail. Almost all of them plead out because they couldn’t afford the 10% for the bail. Now they are guilty. My relative held out, posted bail, never plead guilty to anything, every single charge was dropped (correctly), but he is still out $80,000. Tell me where the cash bail system works for anyone other than the rich.

We do need reform. I’m not from IL and know nothing about his bill (which is probably worse liberal shit) but he isn’t wrong that PROPER bail reform is needed.

So what should it be replaced with? Skittles? Baseball cards? Or a pinky swear maybe?

This “need for reform” idea is a social justice warrior mentality. To pass judgement, you should have an idea of how bail systems work in most states. In just about every state, some form or “reform” has happened 3-4 times. How about a guy that is on supervised release for manslaughter. He and a rival gang shot it outside a night club. One of the 26 rounds he fired hit a homeless guy in the head. He gets 4 years for the death (heck his attorney promised the Commonwealth this was self defense, and could have happened to anyone. Well, anyone who actively has a rival drug gang, and posts on social media they were going to the club to “take care of business”). He’s out on supervised parole. Gets caught a couple weeks ago with half pound of meth and a converted AR-15. Again, it could have happened to any of us/sarc/. He served 20 percent of the “non-violent” offense (3 years, 21 days is a full year for state credit from prior reform, so he only had to sever 20 percent of 15 months).

His egregious bond that needs to be reformed because it hurts the little guy put him back on the street in four hours to almost the minute. He was buying another gun from an undercover police four hours after that.

These types of happens are not the exception. They are the rule. The only bond reform that needs enacted is one that keeps the bad people behind bars that pose a threat to society. And to say “yes, I know that it has its flaws but the humanitarian thing blah blah blah”. How humanitarian is it to put violent people on the streets that are going to victimize people as a matter of their lifestyle?

We need bond reform. It isn’t the lefty “no more cash bond” pipe dream that we are constantly promised. That “no more cash bond” is to put everyone on the street so they don’t have to pay for housing them.

quote:

Originally posted by jljones:
So what should it be replaced with? Skittles? Baseball cards? Or a pinky swear maybe?

This “need for reform” idea is a social justice warrior mentality. To pass judgement, you should have an idea of how bail systems work in most states. In just about every state, some form or “reform” has happened 3-4 times. How about a guy that is on supervised release for manslaughter. He and a rival gang shot it outside a night club. One of the 26 rounds he fired hit a homeless guy in the head. He gets 4 years for the death (heck his attorney promised the Commonwealth this was self defense, and could have happened to anyone. Well, anyone who actively has a rival drug gang, and posts on social media they were going to the club to “take care of business”). He’s out on supervised parole. Gets caught a couple weeks ago with half pound of meth and a converted AR-15. Again, it could have happened to any of us/sarc/. He served 20 percent of the “non-violent” offense (3 years, 21 days is a full year for state credit from prior reform, so he only had to sever 20 percent of 15 months).

His egregious bond that needs to be reformed because it hurts the little guy put him back on the street in four hours to almost the minute. He was buying another gun from an undercover police four hours after that.

These types of happens are not the exception. They are the rule. The only bond reform that needs enacted is one that keeps the bad people behind bars that pose a threat to society. And to say “yes, I know that it has its flaws but the humanitarian thing blah blah blah”. How humanitarian is it to put violent people on the streets that are going to victimize people as a matter of their lifestyle?

We need bond reform. It isn’t the lefty “no more cash bond” pipe dream that we are constantly promised. That “no more cash bond” is to put everyone on the street so they don’t have to pay for housing them.

The guy you describe should not get bail, regardless of the price. I don’t know if anyone proposing bail reform is sincere or not. But it makes sense to me that what governs the decision of whether or not to grant bail should be based on the person, the crime, and the risks. Not how much money he has. The point is that your guy should not be granted bail. Putting a dollar amount on it allows him to get out if he can afford it.

Low bail is stupid for high risk people. High bail is equally stupid in my opinion, if the defendant can afford it. I just don’t see the relationship between the risk to society and the wealth of the defendant.

That’s the unfortunate reality Of what “cash bail reform” is.