By GREG BISHOP
Illinois Radio Network
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (IRN) — Illinois Republicans are calling for changes to the state’s Pretrial Fairness Act after a man accused of concealing a dead body in a trashcan for nearly two months was released from jail pending trial.
Megan Bos went missing in March. Her mother Jennifer said not knowing where she was, she and the community put out flyers calling for information. A Mexican national was then arrested for concealment of her body in Waukegan.
“He ignored the flyers. There were flyers everywhere with her face on them. He didn’t care about what we were going through,” Jennifer said.
Jose Luis Mendoza-Gonzalez was charged with four felonies, including concealment of a body, but was released pending trial under the Pretrial Fairness Act. Mendoza-Gonzalez told police that Megan, whom he knew, visited and started taking drugs. Mendoza-Gonzalez told police that he found her dead from an overdose and was scared.
State Rep. Patrick Windhorst, R-Metropolis, said Mendoza-Gonzalez’s charges aren’t detainable offenses under the law and that needs to change.
“What I think is important is we need to make sure … the detention net includes all offenses that are felony offenses if we’re going to keep this system,” Windhorst said, noting he and other Republicans want to see the law ended all together, and to return to a cash bail system.
The Pretrial Fairness Act was part of the Safety Accountability Fairness and Equity-Today, or SAFE-T, Act that passed during a lame duck session in January 2023. After lawsuits from county prosecutors from across the state, the Pretrial Fairness Act was enacted when the Illinois Supreme Court upheld the measure, allowing it to go into effect in September 2023, effectively ending cash bail statewide, the first state in the nation to do so.
State Rep. Kam Buckner, D-Chicago, supports the Pretrial Fairness Act.
“I’ve always said this since 2021, I’m ready to listen to my colleagues and not just have them pontificate about what was wrong with it,” Buckner said. “But if there are things they think can be better and they have some examples, my door is always open.”
Windhorst said he has had some conversations with Democrats about changes he said are needed, but they, as the majority party, need to act.
“It’s just a matter of holding hearings, considering legislation and passing it,” he said.
Mendoza-Gonzalez is a Mexican national and faces concealment of a body and other felonies.
