Governor defends elimination of cash bail in wake of Villa Park's recent fatal domestic incident

(WBBM NEWSRADIO) - Governor Pritzker is offering his reaction to a case in DuPage County, where authorities said a man fatally shot his wife and himself this month, just days after being released from jail on domestic battery charges.

On April 14, 47-year-old Winston Elguezabal was arrested and charged with misdemeanor domestic battery after being accused of assaulting his wife, 49-year-old  Julie Elguezabal .

Two days later, he was released ahead of trial, placed on GPS monitoring and told to stay at least 1,000 feet away from his wife. But, Friday night, Villa Park Police responded to the family’s home in the 300 block E. Monroe and found the two shot to death.

“We need to make sure domestic violence is something that gets taken very seriously when anybody is considered whether they should remain incarcerated or not,” Pritzker said Tuesday.

DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin has said the case highlights the need for legislative changes to protect domestic violence victims . But, Pritzker told reporters he’s not ready to go that far just yet.

“The Pretrial Fairness Act is intended, in fact, to deal with exactly situations like this,” the governor added.

He said confiscating firearms and the jobs of state’s attorneys and judges are not easy.

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