Bill would deny bail to terror suspects

“As an attorney and former prosecutor, I believe that this bill provides a good balance between giving the court the proper authority to maintain public safety and respecting the rights of the defendant.”

State Sen. Bill Haine is guiding legislation that would allow judges to deny bail to people accused of crimes such as that of a former SIUE student awaiting trial on charges of attempting to make a terrorist threat.

Haine, an Alton Democrat and former Madison County state's attorney, said Monday: 'If somebody makes a terrorist threat or a threat of mass violence, it is reasonable to prevent them from being given an opportunity to follow through with their threat by posting bail.'

Police arrested Olutosin Oduwole on July 20 after finding he wrote a note that contained rap lyrics and also stated: 'Send $2 to ... PayPal account if this account doesn't reach $50,000 in the next 7 days then a murderous rampage similar to the VT shooting will occur at another highly populated university. This is not a joke.' Read more