KENOSHA, Wis. — In February 2021, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed the SAFE-T Act into law, a sweeping criminal justice reform bill that eventually led to Illinois becoming the first state in the nation to eliminate cash bail as a condition of release in criminal cases. Supporters argued it would create a fairer system by focusing on whether someone poses a danger rather than whether they can afford to pay money. Critics argued it would make it easier for dangerous people to avoid detention and could put public safety at risk.

If you are reading this, ask yourself a simple question: Do you want that to happen in Kenosha County?

Based on what I have seen, what I have reported and what courthouse sources have told Kenosha County Eye, I believe there is a deliberate push inside the Kenosha County courthouse to issue fewer warrants, set fewer cash bails and move Kenosha closer to the type of no-cash bail system now associated with Illinois.

At the center of that concern is Kenosha County Circuit Court Judge Chad Kerkman, who holds the title of deputy chief judge for the Second Judicial District. That title may sound powerful to the public, but the authority of a deputy chief judge is administrative. It does not give Kerkman the ability to overrule other judges’ decisions from the bench, tell elected judges how to rule in individual cases or dictate whether a particular criminal defendant should be brought before the court on a warrant or mailed a summons.

Still, according to a source who was present at a recent judges meeting, judges were told or encouraged not to sign felony warrants without separate affidavits explaining why a warrant was needed. In my opinion, that is an improper and sloppy interpretation of the law, and it risks creating a dangerous new practice in Kenosha County.

A criminal complaint is already a sworn document. It contains a complainant, is signed under oath and is “second-signed,” meaning it is notarized or sworn before the proper authority. Requiring a separate affidavit on top of that, especially in serious felony cases, appears unnecessary and creates one more procedural hurdle before police can arrest someone accused of a serious crime.

That is not just a theoretical concern.

On Wednesday, Judge Jason Rossell declined to sign a warrant in a felony case involving a man charged with fleeing police and recklessly endangering safety. Instead of allowing police to arrest the man and bring him to jail, Rossell’s decision means police will have to track him down and serve him with a summons. That means he may not be booked, fingerprinted or photographed unless and until he appears in court.

Rossell is closely aligned politically with Kerkman. Both are Democrats, and both appear to be moving in a direction that critics inside the courthouse believe is softening Kenosha County’s approach to warrants and bail.

In my opinion, what we are seeing looks like an attempt to make Kenosha County more like Illinois. No one is saying every violent criminal will automatically be released. But the pattern is becoming harder to ignore: fewer warrants, more no-cash bail and more serious defendants walking out of court without paying a penny.

Over the last several days alone, Kenosha County Eye has reported on multiple serious cases in which fill-in court commissioners set no-cash bail or low bail in cases that many people in the community would reasonably view as serious public-safety matters.

Liberal Activist Supplemental Court Commissioner Tracey “Low Bail” Braun set no-cash bail for a father charged in connection with the deaths of his three children. Braun also set no-cash bail in a domestic disturbance case involving alleged death threats. Liberal Activist Supplemental Court Commissioner Aileen “Half-Off” Henry also made a series of low-bail and no-cash bail decisions in serious cases.

Those are not isolated concerns. They fit into a larger courthouse conversation that prosecutors, court staff, defense attorneys, legal observers and others have been having behind the scenes. The concern is that Kerkman, despite holding only administrative authority, is attempting to shape the courthouse culture on warrants and bail.

Many people criticized former Court Commissioner William “Bargain Bail Billy” Michel II for his low bail decisions, and often deservedly so. But even Michel would sometimes set appropriate cash bail in serious cases.

Judge Jodi Meier appears to be one of the few judges willing to push back against what many courthouse observers believe is a broader trend. In one recent case involving a Wilmot man accused of child pornography offenses, Judge Chad Kerkman initially released the defendant on no-cash bail. At the defendant’s subsequent initial appearance, Court Commissioner William “Bargain Bail Billy” Michel II allowed the no-cash bail to remain in place. Later, when the matter came before Judge Jodi Meier, she took a dramatically different approach. Meier raised the bail to $25,000 cash and imposed a prohibition on entering school property. To critics of recent no-cash decisions, Meier’s ruling served as a direct contrast and demonstrated that judges still retain independent authority to make their own determinations based on the facts before them.

Separately, Judge Haather Iverson recently signed a warrant, against Kerkman’s wishes for a man accused of stalking.

That is the point: each judge is independently elected and each judge has the authority to make his or her own decisions from the bench. Kenosha County’s Chief Judge is Lynn M. Wollenberg, although she serves as a Racine County Circuit Court judge. Like other chief judges, her authority is administrative in nature and includes matters such as scheduling, assignments and court administration. The position does not allow a chief judge to dictate how another judge rules in an individual case. Likewise, Deputy Chief Judge Chad Kerkman’s authority is administrative and does not permit him to direct another judge’s judicial decisions.

Kenosha County Eye is aware of only two misdemeanor warrants being denied in recent history before this recent felony-warrant controversy. Both involved defendant Jacqueline Niccolai. The first was denied by William “Bargain Bail Billy” Michel II at Kerkman’s direction, and the second was denied by Judge David Hughes. Those examples were unusual. What appears to be happening now is different and broader.

The public-safety consequences are obvious. When a warrant is issued, police can arrest the defendant, book the defendant, take fingerprints, take a mugshot and bring the defendant before the court. When a summons is issued instead, the government is essentially mailing the defendant a letter telling him to show up.

That may be appropriate in some low-level cases. It is much harder to justify in serious felony cases involving fleeing police, reckless endangerment, violence, child pornography allegations or deaths.

In my opinion, Kenosha County residents should be paying close attention. This appears to be more than a few isolated decisions. It appears to be a philosophical shift inside the courthouse, pushed by judges who seem to prefer fewer warrants and fewer cash bails.

Maybe Kerkman and Rossell disagree with that characterization. If they do, they are welcome to explain it. But based on the cases Kenosha County Eye has reported, the courthouse sources who have spoken to us and the pattern now unfolding in public, I believe Kenosha County is being nudged toward an Illinois-style system without voters ever being asked whether they want that.

The Kenosha community, the legal community, prosecutors, court staff, police officers and elected officials are watching closely.

They should be.