Eileen O'Neill Burke sworn in as Cook County State's Attorney
CHICAGO — Eileen O'Neill Burke was sworn in as the new Cook County State's Attorney Monday morning after winning the race with more than twice as many votes as her Republican challenger.
The seat was open for the first time in 16 years, and O'Neill Burke netted roughly 67.4% of the overall vote, compared to the 28.2% received by Bob Fioretti, a civil rights attorney and former Chicago alderman.
She replaces outgoing State's Attorney Kim Foxx, who is stepping down after two terms.
O'Neill Burke pulled in the endorsements of many labor groups, elected officials, lawyers, and retired judges' committee co-chairs. In her campaign, she said her agenda would focus on getting guns off the street and addressing the root causes of crime.
Before Monday's swearing-in ceremony, O'Neill Burke announced three transition co-chairs: Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd), Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability president Anthony Driver, and former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, who now runs the violence prevention group Chicago CRED. The trio will lead nine subcommittees staffed with a who's who of Cook County advocacy organizations and lawmakers.
During her speech, O'Neill Burke said Monday's swearing-in was not about her.
"It is about the belief that safety and a fair criminal justice system are not mutually exclusive. We can have both, and we will," she said.
She mentions that the city has "unparalleled opportunities," from world-class universities to its fresh water supply, and is primed to boom, but that has been overshadowed by crime.
"While our crime rates are beginning to come down, the progress is not sufficient, particularly when it comes to gun violence," O'Neill Burke said. "Our number of shootings has risen exponentially. We have war zone numbers of people being wounded by gun violence right now. We're 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."
O'Neill Burke referenced the assault weapons ban and said she has no doubts the appellate courts will uphold the ban once again.
"The ban bans not only assault weapons but guns that have been equipped with a switch and an extended magazine, which converts it into a machine gun that is capable of firing 30 rounds in a second. These are weapons of war. Starting today, we are treating the possession of these weapons with the seriousness they demand, and we will seek detention and jail time every time someone is found with those weapons," she said.
O'Neill Burke discussed the curriculum being developed for each level of the State Attorney's Office—studying the constitution, case law, and statutes. She also mentioned restorative justice programs for non-violent offenders in an effort to turn them around before they turn to crime.
"When they work, we all win," she said.
In closing, she said her team will work tirelessly to make the vision of a safer Cook County become a reality.
"Now it's time to get to work," she said.
O'Neill Burke announces changes to detention policy
After her swearing-in ceremony, O'Neill Burke wasted little time announcing there would be changes to the detention policy under the SAFE-T Act.
Prosecutors will seek pre-trial detention for the highest classes of violent offenses, all violent offenses that occur on public transit, any offense that involves the possession or use of an assault weapon, as well as numerous domestic violence and sex offenses, and crimes against children
Under the SAFE-T Act, the State must file a petition to detain an offender before the court can consider it. According to O'Neill Burke, a judge can no longer hold someone pretrial absent a prosecutor requesting it.
Effective immediately, the Cook County State's Attorney's Office will be seeking detention for:
- Every detainable felony offense where an offender used or possessed a firearm equipped with an extended magazine, drum magazine, automatic switch, or used a ghost gun or defaced firearm;
- Any domestic violence-related, stalking or sex offense where the offender used or possessed a weapon;
- Any detainable felony offense that is committed on public transportation;
- All Murder or Class X felony offenses (e.g., First-Degree Murder, Aggravated Arson, Aggravated Battery of a Child, Aggravated Kidnapping, Aggravated Vehicular Hijacking, Armed Robbery, Home Invasion, Solicitation of Murder)
- All sex offenses where the victim was under the age of 13 and the offender was an adult throughout the duration of the offense or when the offense was committed during the commission of another felony; and all cases involving the manufacture, dissemination, or possession of child pornography
"Together we are going to build a safer, stronger Cook County and that starts on Day One," she said."Let me be clear: weapons of war, violence against the vulnerable, and rampant harm to our communities will not be tolerated. The SAFE-T Act is a seminal piece of legislation that instills more fairness into our system while also requiring that prosecutors use every tool at their disposal to give victims a voice and keep Cook County safe. I am honored to serve as the new State's Attorney and excited to get to work."
O'Neill Burke campaigned on a safer Chicago
She addressed the controversial end to cash bail in Illinois, citing "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.
O'Neill Burke also said a vote for her was 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.