Bond lowered for charged in escape plot

A judge has lowered the $25,000 bond of a Chicago woman accused of helping a convicted murderer escape from Elgin Mental Health Center.

Lisa D. Mack must now post $8,000 for her release pending a trial on aiding in the Sept. 3 escape of her brother-in-law Tolbert Walls.

Walls was convicted of a Cook County murder in 1991.

Walls was in the forensic unit of the facility since July after he was judged unfit to stand trial for an armed robbery in Cook County.

He is still at large.

Defense attorney Matt Downs argued Monday that Ward's family only had about $5,000 to post and that she was not a flight risk.

She and her husband own a home in Chicago and run their own janitorial business. They have six kids ranging from 14 years to 18 months in age.

A 9-year-old is disabled and requires five to seven doctor visits a month.

"(Mack's husband) has tried to run the business and simultaneously take care of all the children. This has proven extremely difficult," Downs said.

Assistant State's Attorney Alice Tracy argued that Mack lied to police that Walls threatened her with a sharp object at the mental health facility when she went to visit.

"She was acting together with Mr. Walls to escape," Tracy said, adding they both used fake visitors passes.

If convicted, Ward faces up to seven years in prison. Her next court date is Oct. 31.