Last year Cook County voters replaced Cook County States Attorney Kim Foxx (who declined to run for re-election) and her handpicked successor with Eileen O’Neill Burke, a former judge. What a difference changing the Cook County States Attorney makes! At CBS News Carol Thompson and Megan De Mar report:
Former Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx pushed for bail reform and the SAFE-T Act. It took effect in September 2023, the year before she left office.
The goal of the new law: to take money out of decisions regarding which defendants remain in custody while awaiting trial and which can go home, possibly being put on electronic monitoring.
“Mothers, grandmothers, sisters, partners, should not be making decisions about whether I should pay for my loved one’s freedom or pay the rent,” said Sharone Mitchell, Jr. He is the Cook County Public Defender and believes in the benefits of the two-year-old no cash bail system.
When Eileen O’Neill Burke took over the top prosecutor’s office in December 2024, she vowed to be tougher on violent criminals.
A new CBS News Chicago Investigators analysis of State’s Attorney detention dashboard data shows key differences in the way some defendants were handled under the two administrations.
continuing:
Under Foxx last year, prosecutors requested detention in 38% of first appearances. Under O’Neill Burke this year, the request was made in 39% of cases.
But, when it comes to the court granting those requests, there’s a bigger gap. 70% granted under Foxx and 80% under O’Neill Burke.
“I think our higher detention numbers are reflective of the additional work that we have put into first appearance court to make sure that we have access to every bit of information, which indicates whether someone is a danger, and we present that information to judges,” said O’Neill Burke.
and
Foxx championed her high domestic violence conviction rate in her administration’s Final Report. She claimed a conviction rate in the mid to high 80% range over her 8 years in office.
But, when it comes to asking for detention to keep the alleged abuser away from the victim, the data shows a different story.
Prosecutors under Foxx asked for detention in 84% of cases in the first 6 months of 2024. But, prosecutors under O’Neill Burke requested it 96% of the time over the same time period in 2025.
And, like with violent crimes, detention was granted more often under O’Neill Burke than Foxx. 85% compared to 61% respectively.
I’m going to admit to being somewhat perplexed by this. If you’re requesting detention in 84% or 96% of cases what’s the point of including cases that fit that description under the SafeT Act? Sounds like a defect in the law to me, one that adds to the workload of prosecutors.
