By Howard Packowitz

BLOOMINGTON – Donald Whalen, who’s waiting to find out if he’ll be tried again for his father’s murder, was required to pay too much bond money to be released from jail, according to one of his lawyers.

Elliot Slosar of the University of Chicago’s Exoneration Project said his team will continue representing the Bloomington native as the state appeals a new trial order.

Whalen’s family posted $100,035 for the murder defendant to be released after McLean County Judge Scott Drazewski cut the bail amount in half.

Whalen is charged with stabbing his father William Whalen with knives and beating him with a pool cue in 1991 at the Downtown Bloomington bar owned by the elder Whalen.

Slosar said the family paid too much for someone who was “wrongfully convicted.”

“We intend to go to the appellate court and seek to change the type of monetary bonds that are issued in McLean County, and we hope that Donny’s case will be the vehicle for that systemic type of bail reform that the Illinois constitution requires,” said Slosar.

Also calling for bond reform is Chicago Mayoral candidate Lori Lightfoot. She said in a social media post on Sunday that she’s for eliminating cash bail because jails should not be “debtors’ prisons for the poor.”

Meantime, Whalen and his lawyers are scheduled to be back in court Wednesday, seeking the judge’s permission for an Exoneration Project social worker to help Whalen adjust to life outside prison after nearly 28 years behind bars.

The social worker intends to help Whalen with a variety of tasks including getting a drivers license or identification card, and to get health insurance.

“Those are the types of things that take wrongfully convicted people months to get done,” said Slosar.

“We’re going to be before Judge Drazewski on Wednesday, and hopefully he’ll help us get that type of stuff done through our social worker for Mr. Whalen,” Slosar also said.

Howard Packowitz can be reached at [email protected]