Chicago alderman says no-cash bail law was violated after CPD officer killed
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A Chicago alderman says the state's no-fee bail law has been “misused and abused,” and is calling for changes after a convicted felon killed a police officer in a hospital.
Alphanso Talley, 27, was charged Monday after allegedly killing 38-year-old Chicago Police Department officer John Bartholomew at Swedish Hospital on Saturday, and wounding another officer in a shooting.
Talley allegedly shot both officers around 11:00 a.m. at the hospital, where officials say he was arrested for armed robbery. When he was taken for a CT scan, prosecutors said he had a gun under his clothes, pulled it out and shot both officers.
He was wanted after allegedly robbing a Family Dollar store Saturday morning and pistol-whipping one of the female employees, taking her purse and keys.
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John Bartholomew was shot and killed Saturday at Endeavor Health Swedish Hospital. (Chicago Police Department)
Chicago Alderman Raymond LopezDemocrat, told Fox News Digital that the SAFE-T law, the law that eliminated cash bail in Illinois, needs to be revised after Saturday's incident, which was allegedly carried out by a pretrial release.
“It must be completely amended because I think that although the intention was good, not to force people to stay in jail because they can't pay the bond for minor crimes, it was misused and abused by repeated violent criminals who do not care about the sanctity of human life, who do not care about property, and who have no intention of ever following the law,” said Lopez.
Alphonso Talley's previous convictions (Illinois Department of Corrections Records):
- Possession of a vehicle/aiding and abetting a stolen vehicle (entered prison: Oct. 2, 2023)
- Aggravated battery of a peace officer (entered prison: Oct. 2, 2023)
- Unlawful use or possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon (entered prison: July 19, 2021)
- Aggravated robbery — showing while armed with a gun (entered prison: Nov. 1, 2017)
- Aggravated robbery — showing while armed with a gun (entered prison: Nov. 1, 2017)
- Aggravated robbery — showing while armed with a gun (entered prison: Nov. 1, 2017)
- Aggravated robbery — showing while armed with a gun (entered prison: Nov. 1, 2017)
Prosecutors said Talley's prior gun convictions from 2021 and four counts of robbery from 2017 make him eligible to be charged with illegal possession of a firearm if he commits another crime.
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Alphonso Talley has been charged with murder after allegedly shooting two police officers. (Cook County Sheriff's Office)
When Talley was accused of killing Bartholomew and shooting another police officer, he was out of prison on parole for armed robbery.
A warrant for his arrest was issued on March 11 while he was on parole for armed robbery.
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Lopez said people like Talley don't deserve pretrial release, and said he should have stayed in jail until his trial.
“Those people don't deserve any kind of sympathy from us, the law-abiding citizens of Illinois, after they've committed their fourth, fifth, eighth, twelfth, seventy crimes, because what they've already shown us is a willingness to continue a pattern of illegal criminal behavior,” Lopez said.
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Chicago police officers stand outside a nearby hospital waiting for information about two fellow officers who were shot during a prisoner transport incident at the Swedish Hospital in Chicago, United States, on April 25, 2026. The suspect was taken into custody following a brief manhunt in the surrounding area. (Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Part of the issue, Lopez says, is that judges don't properly use someone's criminal history when deciding whether someone should stay in jail pending trial.
“Judges don't see the full scope and breadth of what's going on in a person's criminal history — or they're not allowed to use that in making their determination. And that's what allows these people who are often incarcerated to go get electronic monitoring and get sent home,” he said.
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Retired Chicago detective Eugene Roy told Fox News Digital that the incident is a prime example of why Illinois's no-fault bail law needs to be changed, and how the system failed Bartholomew.
“Here's a guy accused of a violent crime and armed robbery and he's allowed to go back on the street and turn off his monitoring device. This is a deliberate act that requires bond to be revoked,” Roy said.
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Talley is charged with murder, attempted murder, unlawful felonious assault, armed robbery, aggravated discharge of a firearm, possession of a firearm by a felon, dangerous firearm, dangerous firearm, fleeing and unlawful use of a weapon.
Fox News' Patrick McGovern contributed to this report.
