Eileen O’Neill Burke sworn in as new Cook County State’s Attorney
CHICAGO - The Cook County State's Attorney's Office is officially under new management, and at Monday's swearing-in, Eileen O'Neill Burke signaled a departure from her predecessor, Kim Foxx.
Less than an hour after the ceremony, O'Neill Burke announced a new detention policy. Cook County prosecutors will seek pre-trial jail time for offenders charged with the following: any crime related to an assault weapon, any felony committed on public transit, any sex crime where the victim is 13 years or younger, and any case involving child pornography.
Keeping criminals off the street is goal number one for O'Neill Burke's office.
"We have warzone numbers of people being wounded by gun violence right now," O’Neill Burke said during her address. "We are having a mass shooting on a regular basis. We are becoming numb to the numbers. I don't want to become numb, I want to do something about it."
But for non-violent offenses, O'Neill Burke says she will expand the use of diversionary programs as an alternative to incarceration.
"If we can get people turned around, it costs a fraction to invest in these programs as it does to incarcerate someone," she said.
In attendance at the swearing-in event were former Mayor Richard M. Daley and transition team member Lori Lightfoot. Notably absent were Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, who supported O'Neill Burke's challenger in the Democratic primary, and Kim Foxx.
Those in attendance heralded what they said was a new day for the county.
"No disrespect to the last state's attorney, I just think there's going to be a different philosophy," said DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin. "When you prosecute crime and hold criminals responsible, it's effective."
O'Neill Burke comes to the office having served as a prosecutor and defense attorney, as well as a trial and appellate court judge.
O’Neill Burke, a Democrat, was elected last month to succeed Foxx, who has served as the county’s top prosecutor for the last eight years. Foxx decided not to run for reelection this year.
O’Neill Burke takes over a department with about 1,200 workers, the second-largest prosecutor’s office in the country. The office handles cases in Cook County, which has more than five million residents.
Eileen O'Neill Burke takes over as Cook County State's Attorney
Eileen O’Neill Burke was sworn in as the new Cook County State’s Attorney on Monday. O’Neill Burke, a Democrat, was elected last month to succeed Kim Foxx, who has served as the county’s top prosecutor for the last eight years. Foxx decided not to run for reelection this year.
Former Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez said she believes O'Neill Burke has the ability to "turn things around."
"I think we've been seeing too much crime go unpunished during these past eight years," Alvarez said. "And I think we really need to put the importance and the safety of every citizen in the city of Chicago and the entire county of Cook as the number one."
O’Neill Burke previously named her transition leadership team including Chicago Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd Ward), Anthony Driver, the president of the city's Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability, and Arne Duncan, the former CEO of Chicago Public Schools and U.S. Secretary of Education under President Barack Obama.
As she takes office, O'Neill Burke said her priorities include stepped-up training for police and prosecutors, a new focus on juvenile justice and gun crimes. She'll have nine subcommittees that will tackle a range of issues including addiction and mental health, public corruption, conviction integrity, domestic violence, and hate crimes.
The members of those committees will review procedures in the State's Attorney's Office and make recommendations to increase safety, ensure fairness, and strengthen operations.