Eileen O'Neill Burke: Cook County State's Attorney

COOK COUNTY, IL — Eileen O'Neill Burke is running on the Democratic ticket for Cook County State's Attorney. Burke is facing Republican opponent Bob Fioretti and Libertarian Andrew Kopinski.

You can find Burke's answers to the Patch candidate questionnaire below:

Candidate

Eileen O'Neill Burke

Town of residence: Chicago

Position Sought

Cook County State’s Attorney

Party Affiliation

Democrat

Education

Chicago Kent Law School

Occupation

I've spent more than 30 years in our criminal justice system as a prosecutor, criminal defense attorney, a circuit court judge and an appellate judge.

Previous or current elected or appointed office

Illinois Circuit Judge. Illinois Appellate Judge

Campaign Website

JusticeForCookCounty

The single most pressing issue facing the Cook County State's Attorney's Office is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

My top priority is tackling the surge of gun violence in our community. Ordinary handguns have been converted into automatic weapons with simple switches and extended magazines. The number of mass shootings our community faces has exponentially increased and it is unacceptable. Additionally, gun violence or any violent crime perpetrated on patrons using mass transit must end. We cannot have a vibrant, successful Cook County unless people can safely and affordably travel throughout this region.

How would you, if elected, support law enforcement and assistant state's attorneys?

When I became a State’s Attorney in 1991, there were 2300 applications for 50 jobs. Today, the office is woefully understaffed. No one ever went to the State’s Attorney's office to make money. Young lawyers went there for the training and the experience.

My goal is to create the gold standard for training in a prosecutor's office. I will recruit other retired judges to establish The Education Unit, where we will have a curriculum for each and every level at the SAO where we will study the Constitution, and the case law and develop the courtroom skills necessary to be effective at our jobs. This will be like getting a Master's degree in trial work that will serve as a model for training prosecutors for the entire nation.

I also want to build on the restorative justice programs currently being utilized in drug courts, mental health courts, and veterans courts. These courtrooms are for non-violent offenders where all parties, the judge, prosecutor, public defender, and social service providers collaborate on how to get someone back on track. These programs are having success, and the recidivism rates are significantly less. Not only does it make us morally better as a society, it is fiscally better. These programs cost a fraction of what it costs to incarcerate someone.

This type of prosecution will also appeal to a completely different type of lawyer, one who does not want to be the hard-charging trial prosecutor, but one who wants to focus on getting people the resources and help needed to get back on track. Expanding these programs will work in concert to lower crime rates by decreasing recidivism through rehabilitation and by keeping the truly violent, dangerous criminals off the streets.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidate seeking this post?

I have been a state’s attorney, defense attorney, circuit court judge, and, most recently, an appellate court judge. Over the past 30 years, I have seen the criminal justice system from all sides. My opponent has no comparable experience in the criminal justice system.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform:

Within the past year, Cook County, Chicago in particular, has seen a rapid increase in armed robberies and carjackings. As State’s Attorney, I want to transform our criminal justice system so that when someone commits a crime with a gun, they will be prosecuted by the best-trained felony prosecutors in the country. By working with federal offices and our neighboring counties, we will tackle the flow of illegal guns, we will go after straw purchasers who sell those guns to criminals.

Cook County is currently experiencing not just an enormous increase in gun possession but an exponential increase in guns with switches converting them to automatic weapons and extended magazines. We are seeing evidence of that with the number of mass shootings that are occurring on a regular basis. People who have nothing to do with the dispute are getting shot and killed in the crossfire when the offenders use these guns to spray bullets into crowds and bystanders.

The newly enacted Assault Weapons Ban gives us an important new tool to fight this scourge of violence. This new law elevates the class of offense and the term of sentence for anyone possessing these weapons. Whether violence is present or not, we need to send a loud and clear message that these weapons will not be tolerated by seeking detention and jail time every single time someone is found in possession of these weapons.

If you gain this position, what accomplishment would define your term in office as a success?

Crime rates decreasing.

Why are you running for office?

Our criminal justice system is not working for this community that I love. As a former prosecutor, criminal defense attorney, and judge, I have spent more than thirty years seeking justice for the people of Cook County from every corner of the courtroom. I believe that my experience, sound judgment, and record of fairness can make things better at a critical time.

The State’s Attorney has a heavy responsibility to vigorously prosecute cases and seek justice for victims, their families, and the people of Cook County while respecting the rule of law and the civil rights of the accused. That requires not only tackling violent crime but also a thoughtful approach to restorative justice.

We don’t have to choose between safety or justice. We can have both with the right leadership. Above all, I know that no State’s Attorney can be successful without earning the trust of the public. I will lead an office with the highest standards of professionalism, and I look forward to sharing my vision with voters to make the office of the Cook County State’s Attorney one of the best prosecutor’s offices in the country.

What questions should be asked of current employees accountable to your office?

The conversations between myself, should I be elected, and the employees of the office are not something subject to public review. Questions of how I hold myself accountable and and what I value are what matter, and I have a thirty-year record in the criminal justice system that demonstrates my commitment to ethics, transparency, and accountability.

What has the current state’s attorney done right? What has she done wrong?

I think the voters believe what is happening in the office right now isn’t working. It isn’t working for victims, defendants, advocates, law enforcement, and ordinary citizens. They want things to work right because they know that a hobbled government isn’t one that can keep people safe or promote justice. Overall, they are looking for change.

State’s Attorney Foxx moved the focus of the office of State’s Attorney toward a more holistic approach to criminal justice instead of just the old approach of locking up as many perpetrators as possible. That was the correct move and it is something I want to build upon.

Do you think the SAFE-T Act/no cash bail has been effective?

Yes. The Safety Act fundamentally changes how we determine whether someone should be detained pre-trial. Rather than setting a higher money bond based on the seriousness of the offense, we now focus on whether someone is a danger to the community or not. Wealth should not determine whether or not someone is held pretrial.

Should drug dealers tied to opioid overdose deaths be prosecuted in Cook County?

Yes. That is current law and I will enforce the law.

Do you support making criminal cases available to the public online? Why or why not?

I support greater transparency in the criminal justice process so that parties, investigators, advocates, and the public can access more parts of every case to hold everyone accountable.

Do you support "no knock" warrants? If so, what type of cases is this tactic appropriate for?

I support current law where the use of no-knock warrants is tightly regulated and accountability measures must be in place during their execution - for example, officer-worn body cameras.

What is your strategy for communicating with the public?

I plan on using a multi-modal strategy to communicate with the public as the availability of means by which citizens obtain information has exploded in past years. It is important to meet people where they are on a regular basis and to use those channels to build trust in the system.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I plan on using a multi-modal strategy to communicate with the public as the availability of means by which citizens obtain information has exploded in past years. It is important to meet people where they are on a regular basis and to use those channels to build trust in the system.

Following the Supreme Court ruling striking down Roe v. Wade last June, it is apparent that the states which have safeguarded a woman’s right to choose will face additional pressures on their justice systems.

Illinois has had a 79% increase in out-of-state visitors coming to our state for abortion services. Inevitably, we will also see an increase in Anti-Choice protesters attempting to interfere with that right.

In order to do that and fulfill the mission of the Cook County State’s Attorney's office to protect victims and uphold the laws of the State of Illinois, I will form the first Choice Protection Unit (CPU) in the Cook County State's Attorney's Office

The CPU will be comprised of specially trained prosecutors who are ready to handle a wide variety of civil actions, municipal ordinance violations, misdemeanors and felonies.

The Choice Protection Unit will be the first unit dedicated to enforcing the laws which protect women’s access to abortion services and reproductive healthcare. It will serve as a model for other states to emulate.

In the post-Dobbs world, it is critical that our prosecutor’s office is trained and ready to respond and ensure that women are unencumbered in exercising their right to reproductive freedom, which is guaranteed in the State of Illinois.