Democrat Eileen O'Neill Burke projected winner in open Cook County State's Attorney seat
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Retired Justice Eileen O'Neill Burke was projected the winner in a heated race for Cook County State's Attorney, with the seat open for the first time in 16 years.
O'Neill Burke won with 64.8% of the vote, compared with 30.8% for Republican Bob Fioretti, a civil rights attorney and former Chicago alderman.
Speaking to her supporters Tuesday night, O'Neill Burke thanked her campaign team, donors, and others who had been in her corner. She also emphasized her mandate to take action to keep Chicago and Cook County safe.
"This is a really large county, and we have gone to every single corner of this county over the last 16 months, and one thing became more apparent to me each and every day—and that is there is much more that unites us than divides us," O'Neill Burke said. "We all want to live in a community where we do not have a mass shooting on a regular basis. We all want to live in a community where people and businesses thrive when they are unencumbered by being victimized. We all want to live in a community where children can go outside and play—regardless of what ZIP code you live in. We all want that."
O'Neill Burke also mentioned the tragic shootout that took the life of Chicago Police Officer Enrique Martinez in the East Chatham neighborhood Monday night.
"I know that was a gut punch to so many of us, and it was to me. My dad, my grandfather, and my great-grandfather were all Chicago policemen. I know how dangerous that job is, and I know—and so do you—the sacrifice that each and every officer makes when they take the oath to serve and protect," she said. "My heart is broken for the Martinez family today, but my spirit is not broken. We will get assault weapons off of the street, and we will make this community safer for everyone. Being safe is not a privilege, it is a right."
Speaking to CBS News Chicago Investigator Megan Hickey last month, O'Neill Burke likewise said a vote for her is a vote for a safer Chicago.
"On Monday mornings, we wake up to 25, 30, 40 people shot, and we're becoming immune to that. We're not shocked by that anymore," O'Neill Burke said.
O'Neill Burke focuses on guns, root causes of crime
After defeating Clayton Harris III by fewer than 1,600 votes in the Democratic primary in March, O'Neill Burke has pulled in the endorsements of many labor groups, elected officials, lawyers, and retired judges' committee co-chairs.
She said her agenda focuses on getting guns off the street and addressing the root causes of crime.
When it comes to the controversial end to cash bail in Illinois that went into effect a year ago, she said there's "dueling data" on its effectiveness, and she vowed her office would be more transparent on the impact of the end to cash bail.
"I want to drill down on the State's Attorney's Office data, and when I get in office, that's what we were going to do, and if I come to the conclusion that we're not safer or we are safer, we're going to figure out what's working and what's not working," she said.
O'Neill Burke pledged to publish a list of cases weekly where prosecutors sought to have defendants held in jail, but their request was denied.
When it comes to the controversial decision to end the city's contract with the gunshot detection system ShotSpotter, she said she defers to the "expert" judgment of Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling, who believes it's a useful tool.
O'Neill Burke said she stepped down from the Illinois Appellate Court to run for Cook County State's Attorney – where she previously worked as an assistant prosecutor for a decade.
Fioretti vowed "to make sure people are charged fully"
Meanwhile, Fioretti has criticized Foxx's handling of her role as Cook County's top prosecutor, and her relationship with the police.
"The police officers are the bad guy, and the victims don't count. Well, I'm going to change that view on November 5th," Fioretti told Hickey last month.
"It is strained. People don't trust each other in one office versus the other office," he said.
Fioretti is a well-known figure in Chicago politics, but not necessarily on the Republican ticket.
He was alderman of the city's 2nd Ward from 2007 to 2015 – before the ward was geographically moved to a different part of the city.
He ran for Cook County Board President twice – losing to Toni Preckwinkle in the Democratic primary in 2018, and then challenging her again as a Republican in 2022, his first time running as a Republican. Both times, he finished with less than 40% of the vote.
He had also run for State's Attorney before, finishing a distant fourth in the Democratic primary in 2020. He ran for mayor in 2015 and 2019 – finishing in 4th place with 7.4% of the vote in a five-way race in 2015, and getting less than 1% of the vote in a crowded race in 2019.
The longtime civil rights attorney, who recently picked up the endorsement of Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., blames a "lack of direction" in the state's attorney's office for the historic departure of assistant prosecutors in recent years.
From a prosecutor's standpoint, he thinks getting rid of the gunshot detection system ShotSpotter in Chicago was a mistake by Mayor Brandon Johnson. He also said he still has his concerns about the end of cash bail in Illinois, and vowed "to make sure people are charged fully with crimes."
Sitting Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx, a Democrat, announced in April 2023 that she would not run for reelection.
Foxx served two terms as State's Attorney after defeating sitting State's Attorney Anita Alvarez in the Democratic primary in 2016. Alvarez was the last candidate not to run against an incumbent, defeating Republican Tony Peraica in 2008 after State's Attorney Richard Devine, a Democrat, decided not to run for reelection after three terms.
Libertarian Andrew Charles Kopinski was also on the November ballot. He won 4.4% of the vote.