Parents’ release in Homer Glen murder case draws fire from state lawmaker over SAFE-T Act

A state lawmaker wants the SAFE-T Act repealed after a Will County judge continued the pretrial release of parents charged with the drug-related murder of a child but the law’s supporters note the parents have not violated their release conditions.

In a statement on Thursday, State Rep. Patrick Sheehan, R-Homer Glen, said a “heartbreaking tragedy” in Will County exposed the failures of the SAFE-T Act.

The state law eliminated cash bail in 2023 and requires judges to decide pretrial release based on public safety and the circumstances of each case.

On May 22, Edward Weiher, 49, and Alexa Balen, 28, both of Homer Glen, were indicted on new charges of first-degree murder about four months after they were released from jail in a case involving the death of their 2-year-old daughter.

The child died after ingesting cocaine, fentanyl and bromazolam that she accessed in a filthy “million-dollar home,” according to prosecutors.

The murder charge alleged the parents failed to seek timely medical care for their child and knew the overdose created a strong probability of death or great bodily harm to the child.

Prosecutors renewed their bid to detain Weiher and Balen by arguing the two are now facing a murder charge and Weiher has “substantial funds” and the means to “flee the jurisdiction.”

On Monday, Will County Judge Vincent Cornelius found the parents had followed the strict conditions he set for their pretrial release, which included home confinement, electronic monitoring and substance abuse treatment.

Joliet attorney Cosmo Tedone said Balen no longer had custody of a second child, who was found to have fentanyl and cocaine in her body. The child’s father from New York was given primary custody, court records show.

Cornelius allowed Weiher and Balen to continue their pretrial release.

Sheehan said that was “unacceptable.”

“A child was taken from this world in a horrific way and the people accused of her murder are walking free. The [SAFE-T Act] has turned our justice system upside down, protecting criminals while failing the most vulnerable among us,” Sheehan said.

Sheehan said law enforcement are “handcuffed and our courts are powerless while criminals walk free.“

“We need laws that hold criminals accountable. Instead, here we are, seeing two people charged with murder of a child walk free. It’s outrageous and needs to change,” Sheehan said.

In response, supporters of the SAFE-T Act from Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice said the new allegations against Weiher and Balen “will play out at trial.”

“In the meantime, the parents have complied with their pretrial conditions, including participating in treatment and showing up to court. There is no other new evidence suggesting that they are a flight risk or are currently a danger to the community, which are the relevant questions that determine pretrial release,” according to a statement from the organization.

Last January, when Cornelius first allowed the parents’ release from jail, he said it was not his place to take “proactive, punitive measures” against Weiher and Balen.

“It is inappropriate for the court to do so when the issue is detention,” Cornelius said.

The Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice said every aspect of the Homer Glen case is tragic but they hope opponents of a “fair, risk-based pretrial system” will stop “using these tragedies to push their political agenda.”

“It does not make our communities safer and only serves to distract from the needs of this hurting family and their surviving child,” according to a statement from the organization.

Illinois House Republicans commented on the Homer Glen case in a Facebook post that contends the SAFE-T Act “puts Illinois communities at risk.”

“We can’t continue to put the rights of criminals ahead of victims,” the post said.

State Sen. Rachel Ventura, D-Joliet, said the SAFE-T Act is working. As an example, Ventura pointed to recent data from the Joliet Police Department about the decline of violent crime in the city in the past year.

In a speech on May 28, Joliet Mayor Terry D’Arcy said the city has seen “consistent declines in violent crime” because of “focused, proactive policing” that involves “data, technology, and community partnerships.”

Ventura said those who “do violence in our society are being detained.”

Meanwhile, people who are not a danger to society are given the opportunity to work through their cases in court while not having to stay in jail, Ventura said.