Electronic Monitoring Program Placement

This video is displayed to all individuals released on Electronic Monitoring and may be helpful to others to understand Electronic Monitoring.

The Cook County Sheriff’s Electronic Monitoring Program (EM) is a pre-trial monitoring program created to ease overcrowding in the Cook County Department of Corrections. Since its inception in 1989, over 300,000 DOC individuals in custody have been placed on EM. The monitoring program is used as a community-based alternative incarceration concept that allows pre-trial, and short-time sentenced individuals in custody to remain in the community instead of being incarcerated in jail. The average daily population of this program is well over 2,000.

Since 15 December 2008, placements onto Electronic Monitoring have been made in Central Bond Court (now known as First Appearance Court) or the trial courts. Placements to EM are court ordered as a condition of pretrial release and can be requested by the Assistant State’s Attorney or the Public Defender.

Residential Placement

EM participants will be approved for placement at a residence for monitoring provided the following criteria are met:

1. The residence must be in Cook county;
2. The residence must be a house, apartment, or condo;
3. The residence must be compatible with the EM equipment; and
4. The homeowner or leaseholder must consent to the placement.
5. The residence must not be the same address as the participant’s current or past victim of a domestic violence-related or sex-related crime.

Placement at the residence must comply with the conditions of pretrial release and must not violate any local, state, or federal laws or regulations.

How It Works

The individual in custody is fitted with an ankle bracelet that is a global positioning system. The individual in custody wears the ankle bracelet 24 hours a day. The transmitter emits a global positioning location to the Electronic Monitoring Unit and is also a two-way communication device. The GPS bracelet informs the Monitoring Center when the individual in custody leaves and enters the home, the places of travel, as well as if the equipment has been tampered. Tampering includes but is not limited to attempting to or removing the ankle bracelet, failure to charge and allowing the bracelet battery to deplete, damaging the bracelet, or treating/using the equipment in such a way as to activate other tamper detectors.

What EM Participants Can Do While On The Program

Through court orders, participants may be granted permission to work, attend school, and/or participate in job skill programs.

Current participants on the Electronic Monitoring Program, should call the phone number below 24 hours per day, seven days a week for all movement requests and questions regarding the program rules and regulations:

877-326-9198

[email protected]

Movement While on EM

Essential Movement

At a minimum, any person ordered to pretrial home confinement with or without electronic monitoring must be provided with movement spread out over no fewer than two days per week to participate in basic activities such as those listed in this procedure (730 ILCS 5/5-8A-4 A-1)

Starting January 1, 2022, every participant will be allowed essential movement. If your Booking ID ends with an odd number, you will receive a permanent schedule of Monday and Wednesday from 8:00am-4:00pm. If your Booking ID ends with an even number, you will receive a permanent schedule of Tuesday and Thursday from 8:00am-4:00pm.

One-Time Movement

A one-time movement is permission granted to an EM Participant, allowing him/her to leave the monitored residence for a specific reason. Movement may be approved without a court order for one-time movement. The movement must be necessary to ensure the participant’s success while on the program.

Acceptable reasons for one-time movement include:

• Court appearances
• Medical appointments
• Dental appointments
• Attorney consultations
• Probation appointments
• Parole appointments
• Religious Services
• Voting
• Public Aid appointments
• Unemployment appointments
• Property pick up
• Funerals (immediate family only)
• Obtaining a state ID

*Any other one-time movement that is acceptable to the Sheriff and increases the defendants’ chances of success on the program may also be considered.

Work/School Movement

Movement for work may be approved for employment with a court order at a legitimate place of business licensed to operate in the state of Illinois and at one single location.

Movement for school may be approved for a student at a Chicago or suburban public school, college, trade school, or other specialized school with a court order at one single location and which is licensed to operate in the state of Illinois.

A signed letter from the employer on company letterhead stating the specific hours, days, address of employment, duties performed, a supervisor name, and contact number must be provided. Again, movement will not be approved without this information on the letterhead of the movement destination.

The below information is required for movement and must be emailed to the Sheriff’s Electronic Monitoring Unit at least seventy-two (72) hours before the requested movement date and time.

• EM participant’s name, jail number and contact phone number.
• Name, address, and telephone number of the desired movement destination.
• Name and title of a contact person/supervisor at the desired destination.
• The exact time of the visit/appointment/work/school.
• Mode of transportation to be utilized.
• Once all documentation has been uploaded, a verbal request to 877-326-9198 prompts the review for movement

Email – [email protected]

(08/01/18–Please note that Electronic Monitoring No longer accepts faxed documents.)