Elected officials demand Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans make changes in domestic violence court

Dozens of elected officials have joined the call for a Cook County judge who released a man later accused of killing his wife to be permanently reassigned from the Domestic Violence Division.

Almost 30 Chicago-area elected officials — from alderpersons to district councilors — signed a letter Thursday demanding Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans move quickly to permanently reassign Judge Thomas Nowinski and begin a review of all pretrial services procedures at the Domestic Violence Courthouse.

“Through these actions, you can help to restore trust among survivors in the court system, and most importantly, you can ensure that you are truly doing all you can to protect lives and prevent more tragedy,” the letter states.

Thursday marked exactly one month since Lacramioara Beldie, 54, was allegedly stabbed to death by her husband Constantin Beldie, 57, in the Portage Park neighborhood, according to Chicago police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Weeks before the murder, Constantin Beldie was charged with choking and attempting to kidnap his wife. The case marked the second time that Lacramioara Beldie filed for a protective order against her husband this year, yet Nowinski denied a petition to detain Constantin Beldie pending trial, instead ordering him released on GPS monitoring.

Advocates for domestic violence survivors immediately called for Nowinski, who was elected to the bench two years ago, to be reassigned out of domestic violence court.

About a week after the killing, Evans announced Nowinski would not be hearing domestic violence cases because of “anonymous threats.” The chief judge's office has not provided any updates since on the status of Nowinski's assignment.

In their calls for permanent reassignment, advocates and elected officials have pointed to another fateful decision Nowinski made on the bench earlier this year.

In February, Nowinski denied a protective order against Crosetti Brand, a convicted felon with a history of domestic violence. Brand was later charged with stabbing the woman who sought protection and killing her 11-year-old son, Jayden Perkins.

The handling of the Crosetti Brand case raised concern from 40th Ward Ald. Andre Vasquez, who lives just blocks from where the slaying occurred. When he learned Nowinski was also involved in Lacramioara Beldie's case, he decided to join others in drafting a letter to Evans.

“I don't want to put it all on Judge Nowinski, but having two of these situations occur because of judgments within the same year do raise some concern that I think needs to be addressed,” Vasquez told the Sun-Times. “I think the public, and women who are victims, feel less confident when there aren't the changes being made to let them know that they're being supported and centered.”

In the letter, Vasquez and fellow elected officials argued that in both cases, Nowinski “failed to ask key questions or take critical information into account, and thereby left these victims vulnerable.”

Officials also acknowledge that “reassigning one judge will not solve systemic problems that fail victims of gender-based violence,” and have therefore called on Evans to ensure all court staff are “well equipped to handle cases such as these.”

Officials have suggested changes to the judicial assignment process to ensure judges with less experience are not the ones tasked with handling “sensitive and nuanced domestic violence cases.”

State Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago, another signee of the letter, told the Sun-Times that domestic violence court is often one of the first assignments judges are given.

“It's a place where we put people who are learning, and that's just not OK,” Cassidy said. “[These are] some of the most fraught cases that any judge is ever going to see, so this shouldn't be someone who's doing it for the first time.

"That area of the court needs to be given the respect it's due, the respect that survivors are due.”

During the detention hearing for Constantin Beldie, Nowinski raised concerns about the preparation of evidence and facts of the case, according to a court transcript.

A safety assessment conducted by pretrial services did not indicate any prior orders of protection.

Elected officials are demanding Evans conduct a “full internal review of procedures to ensure your Pretrial Services staff are adequately equipped to support Domestic Violence judges as they rule.”

In a statement released a week after Lacramioara Beldie was killed, Evans announced an investigation was underway to determine “whether any employee failed to follow policies and procedures in this case.”

No updates have been provided.