A Chicago man accused of repeatedly violating the conditions of his electronic monitoring was arrested in an unexpected location: the backyard of Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s Gold Coast residence.
Illinois State Police troopers assigned to the governor’s security detail detained 46-year-old Dwayne Milton at about 10 p.m. on July 4, according to court and police records reviewed by CWB Chicago.
Authorities said security cameras captured Milton attempting to climb over a rear gate at the property in the 1400 block of North Astor Street. He eventually entered the backyard, where troopers took him into custody before Chicago police officers arrived to assist.
Milton was charged with misdemeanor trespassing. Officials have not indicated that Pritzker or members of his family were present during the incident.
The arrest also brought an end to an 11-day period during which Milton was wanted for allegedly violating his electronic-monitoring restrictions.
According to CWB Chicago’s review of court filings, Milton was placed on electronic monitoring on June 17 after being charged with felony retail theft. A judge ordered him to remain at his approved residence each night until 8 a.m.
The court filing reportedly shows that his monitoring device began recording violations the following evening.
Milton was allegedly outside his approved residence during the nights of June 18 through June 22. Each incident began at approximately 7 p.m. and escalated several hours later, meaning the monitoring system indicated that he had remained away from his residence for more than three hours.
Another violation was recorded on June 23 and continued into the following morning, according to the filing.
A pretrial officer presented the violations to Cook County Judge Aleksandra Gillespie on June 25. Gillespie then issued a warrant for Milton’s arrest.
That warrant remained active until troopers encountered him at the governor’s residence on Independence Day.
The timeline has renewed questions about how quickly serious electronic-monitoring violations are being brought before Cook County judges.
Cook County Chief Judge Charles Beach previously announced that a participant’s unexplained absence of more than three hours would be classified as a major violation. Under the policy, major violations were expected to be presented to a judge within 24 hours.
In Milton’s case, however, court records indicate that alleged violations occurred over six consecutive nights before the matter reached a judge.
Beach’s office declined to address the specific delay, telling CWB Chicago that judicial-conduct rules prevented it from commenting on an active court case.
Milton has an extensive criminal history in Cook County, including convictions for burglary, retail theft and robbery, according to court records cited in the report. Chicago police records also show that he was arrested three times on shoplifting allegations between April 5 and May 5.
Milton later pleaded guilty to the felony retail-theft charge and received a one-year prison sentence. Court records show that he was credited with 71 days already served, including time spent under electronic monitoring.
The unusual location of his arrest attracted attention, but the case also raises a broader issue: how a defendant accused of repeated violations remained out of custody for more than a week before being discovered inside one of Chicago’s most closely guarded residential properties.