KENOSHA, Wis. — We live in Kenosha, Wisconsin. We do not live in Chicago, Illinois. We are not okay with cashless bail, but that is exactly what Kenosha County has increasingly begun to look like under Judicial Court Commissioner Daniel “Catch & Release” Kellum.

Kenosha County Eye has watched Kellum closely since the Kenosha County judges hired him this summer. We gave him time. We gave him the benefit of the doubt. We acknowledged that he walked into a difficult job without a meaningful background practicing criminal law and would inevitably face a learning curve.

Several weeks into his tenure, KCE evaluated his performance and gave him a C-minus. We specifically said then that we weren’t ready to write him off. We hoped his troubling bail decisions were growing pains and that, with experience, he would improve.

He hasn’t.

If anything, the pattern has become clearer.

Kellum has earned the nickname “Catch & Release” because defendants accused of serious crimes, repeat offenders and people accused of dangerous conduct routinely appear before him and walk out of court on no-cash bail — meaning they don’t have to pay a cent to secure their release. They simply sign a piece of paper promising to follow their conditions and return to court.

Enough is enough.

Kenosha County deserves better.

Three More No-Cash Releases

Just today, Kenosha County Eye reported on three disturbing cases involving defendants Kellum released on no-cash bail.

One involved a 37-year-old registered child sex offender charged with second-degree sexual assault by use of force, a Class C felony carrying up to 40 years in prison. He previously served prison time after being convicted of second-degree sexual assault of a child. Kellum released him on no-cash bail.

Another involved a 55-year-old repeat offender accused of throwing gasoline through the window of an occupied Kenosha home, screaming racial slurs, fleeing from a police officer while carrying a large pair of scissors and another metal object, and continuing to flee until police tased him. Kellum released him on no-cash bail.

The third involved a 28-year-old repeat offender who police say walked around Kenosha pointing a four-foot wooden stick at motorists and others as though it were a rifle. Police say he then pretended to shoot toward officers, ignored repeated commands and advanced toward an officer until the stick was approximately one foot from the officer’s face. He was tased and arrested. His attorney subsequently raised concerns about his competency.

Kellum released him on no-cash bail, too.

These defendants have not been convicted of the new allegations against them, and an initial appearance isn’t a sentencing hearing. But that’s precisely why Wisconsin has a bail system: judicial officers are required to make decisions before a case has been resolved while applying the Wisconsin Constitution and state law.

And Wisconsin voters have made their position on public safety unmistakably clear.

Wisconsin Is Not Illinois

In April 2023, Wisconsin voters overwhelmingly approved two constitutional amendments expanding what courts may consider in bail decisions. One allows courts to impose conditions designed to protect members of the community from serious harm. The other expanded the factors that may be considered in setting monetary bail for defendants accused of violent crimes, including protecting the community from serious harm.

Those amendments weren’t close. The first passed with roughly two-thirds of the statewide vote, and the second passed with more than two-thirds.

Wisconsin voters spoke.

Illinois eliminated cash bail. Wisconsin voters instead amended their Constitution to give courts greater ability to consider public safety.

Yet Kellum’s courtroom increasingly resembles the former philosophy.

KCE believes his repeated no-cash releases in serious cases show an approach to bail that gives insufficient weight to public safety. When alleged violence, repeat offenses and confrontations with law enforcement repeatedly end with defendants walking out without posting a cent, the public has every right to ask what exactly it takes to warrant meaningful bail.

Did Kellum Decide This — Or Did Judge Kerkman?

There is another question KCE has raised before, and it becomes more important with every no-cash release.

Is this actually Kellum’s philosophy?

Kenosha County Eye highly suspects Judge Chad Kerkman is encouraging Kellum’s extraordinarily permissive approach to bail. KCE believes Kerkman’s own approach to pretrial release resembles the philosophy behind Illinois’ cashless-bail system.

We want to emphasize what we know and what we don’t: KCE does not presently have evidence showing Kerkman ordered Kellum to impose no-cash bail in any particular case.

But the question needs to be asked.

If Kellum is independently making these decisions, then Kellum owns them.

If someone else is attempting to dictate how he exercises his judicial authority in individual cases, that presents an entirely different and potentially serious problem.

Either way, the public sees the same result from the bench.

And the other Kenosha County judges should remember something important: Kerkman is not their boss. His administrative position does not transform the other independently elected circuit court judges into his subordinates when they exercise judicial authority.

The Judges Knew Kellum’s Background

The warning signs were there before Kellum ever took the bench.

His résumé overwhelmingly reflects civil work: consumer litigation, tort claims, collections, creditor rights, bankruptcy compliance and related matters. His application said his career had “touched on” criminal, juvenile, family and civil litigation, but it does not identify any substantial period in which he worked as a criminal prosecutor or criminal defense attorney. He also listed a Milwaukee residence when he applied for the Kenosha County position.

Kellum therefore makes decisions affecting the safety of a community dozens of miles from where he lives.

That isn’t disqualifying. But it matters to us when the decisions we’re criticizing concern the risks borne by the people who actually live here.

Kellum goes home to Milwaukee.

The defendants he releases into Kenosha County stay here.

Were The Judges Settling?

There is also important context surrounding how Kellum got the job.

Judge Kerkman put in writing during the hiring process that the judges were having difficulty attracting quality candidates for the commissioner position. KCE believes those comments raise an obvious question about whether the judges believed they had attracted the caliber of candidates they originally wanted.

KCE previously reported that former Kenosha City Attorney Ed Antaramian was the judges’ preferred candidate, according to sources, but the compensation wasn’t enough to make taking the position practical for him.

Kellum ultimately got the job.

At the time, that didn’t mean he couldn’t grow into it. KCE heard positive things about him from a courthouse employee, and we reported them. We didn’t begin with an axe to grind against Daniel Kellum.

We evaluated what he did after taking the bench.

First, we gave him a chance.

Then we gave him a C-minus.

Now we have considerably more evidence on which to judge his performance.

“Catch & Release” Isn’t Just A Nickname Anymore

Readers don’t have to take KCE’s word for any of this.

Search Kenosha County Eye for “Kellum” and “no-cash bail.”

Look at the cases.

Look at the allegations.

Look at the criminal histories.

Look at the bail decisions.

There are countless examples documenting the pattern that earned Kellum his “Catch & Release” nickname. And this isn’t about demanding astronomical cash bail in every criminal case. Plenty of defendants accused of minor offenses can appropriately be released.

It’s about judgment.

It’s about recognizing when the person standing in front of you presents allegations and a history serious enough that protecting the public must matter.

In our opinion, Kellum repeatedly gets that balance wrong.

Kenosha County Deserves Better

When the judges selected Kellum, they took a chance on an attorney without substantial criminal-law experience to occupy one of the most consequential positions in the Kenosha County criminal justice system.

That experiment is producing troubling results.

The judges who appointed him should closely examine the record they now have in front of them: not his résumé, not his interview and not what anyone hoped he might become, but his actual decisions from the bench.

KCE believes those decisions are making Kenosha County less safe.

We also believe the judges who selected Kellum made a mistake.

Whether these decisions reflect Kellum’s own philosophy or influence from elsewhere in the courthouse, the responsibility attached to the rulings carrying Kellum’s name ultimately rests with him.

Daniel “Catch & Release” Kellum has earned his reputation.

Kenosha County Eye’s position is no longer a C-minus.

Kellum needs to go.