February 15, 2021: Illinois State Trooper Brian Frank was gravely injured while attending to a traffic accident in a snow storm on I-55 in his marked squad car with emergency lights activated. A vehicle driving recklessly and at high speed crashed into his squad while he was inside it. To this day, Trooper Frank is fighting for his life. 

April 1, 2022: The Will County State's Attorney's office charged the man who committed this crime with Aggravated Reckless Driving and for Operation of Vehicles and Streetcars on Approach of Authorized Emergency Vehicles (Scott’s Law).  An arrest warrant was issued, and bond was set at $250,000 (10% to apply). 

After being arrested by the Will County Sheriff, the offender immediately requested a bond reduction hearing. Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak granted it, cutting the offender's bond in more than half, reducing it to $100,000 (10% to apply). 

May 2022: The court granted the defendant permission to travel out of state for work purposes. 

Judge Bertani-Tomczak's decision to lower bond for this offender, and consequently to allow the offender to travel out of state, was harmful and devastating, to say the least. 

•  It gravely undermines the seriousness of Scott's Law, which is already dangerously disregarded by drivers in Illinois. So far in 2022 there have been 15 crashes involving ISP squads by those violating Scott's Law, and 41 crashes happened in 2021.
• In August 2021, Governor JB Pritzker signed into law changes to Scott's Law to strengthen the penalties for violations. Allowing defendants to 'name their price' on bond undermines our state's efforts to enforce an important law that would save lives.
• Lowering the bond for this offender is deeply offensive to all law enforcement officers who have suffered injuries from drivers violating Scott's Law, especially those who lost their lives. 

We wish to use this petition to respectfully let Judge Bertani-Tomczak know the impact of her decision and its devastating effects on Trooper Frank's wife and family, who have suffered unimaginably this past year, in addition to waiting more than a year to see the offender who carelessly injured Trooper Frank brought to justice. 

To read more about Trooper Frank's journey since his injury, visit https://4thpath.blogspot.com/