Primary day is less than three weeks away, and we’re looking at some of the biggest races on the ballot including who will replace the county’s outgoing top prosecutor, Kim Foxx.
What Does the Cook County State’s Attorney Do?
The office is responsible for civil and criminal prosecutions, working on cases ranging from representing Cook County in court to traffic and narcotic prosecutions.
“There's a lot of policy power that the head of that office can wield to decide what kinds of crimes we're fighting, how victims across the county are represented, and everything in between,” the Tribune’s A.D. Quig told the City Cast Chicago podcast.
Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx in 2022. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Why Was Kim Foxx’s Term Memorable?
Foxx, the first Black woman to hold the office, was elected in 2016 amid a campaign to oust then–State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez, who didn’t prosecute the officers who killed Laquan McDonald.
Foxx came in along with other prosecutors across the U.S. who wanted to have a different approach — like offering diversion programs for first-time and low-level offenders so attorneys could prosecute more complex cases.
But other offices often blamed her office for spikes in crime. She was also criticized for her handling of Jussie Smollett’s case, where the “Empire” star was charged with staging an elaborate hate crime against himself.
Meet the Democrats Vying for the Office
University of Chicago lecturer Clayton Harris III has been a corporate lobbyist and helped run the state after former Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested (though he has said he is not a Blago guy).
If elected, Harris says he wants to better communicate the office is securely convicting dangerous criminals and that he doesn’t want to target kids.
Former state appellate justice Eileen O’Neill Burke (no relation to all the other Burkes) has spent her career in the courtroom.
Burke says the office shouldn’t be so focused on diversion. She wants to clarify that crimes will be prosecuted and institute more supervision for juvenile arrestees.
