Eileen O’Neill Burke sworn in as new Cook County State’s Attorney

CHICAGO - 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.

She 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 5 million residents.

O'Neil Burke espoused her love for Chicago and Cook County had much to offer its residents, but the city is "being overshadowed by crime right now."

"While our crime rates are beginning to come down, the progress is not sufficient, particularly when it comes to gun violence," she said.

She mentioned the killings of Chicago Police Officer Enrique Martinez and Oak Park Police Officer Allan Reddins just last month. She said Chicago has "war zone numbers" of people being wounded by gun violence and a "mass shooting on a regular basis."

"I don't want to become numb," she said. "I want to do something about it."

To that end, O'Neill Burke announced her office would seek to have people held in jail if they were charged with certain gun crimes, domestic-violence, stalking or sex offenses in which they used or had a gun, all murder offenses and crimes in which the victim was under the age of 13, and all cases involving the possession, making and distribution of child pornography.

She has experience as a criminal defense attorney, a prosecutor and a judge. She spent a decade working as a Cook County assistant state's attorney and was elected to the First District Appellate Court in Cook County.

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.

O'Neill Burke has reportedly reached out to several attorneys who left the State's Attorney's Office under Foxx. Several state's attorneys quit amid turmoil in the department.

In last month’s general election, O’Neill Burke earned 67.4% of the vote, defeating her Republican opponent Bob Fioretti.