Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke Issues New Detention Policies

CHICAGO — Newly sworn-in Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke marked her first week in office with a sweeping announcement of a new pretrial detention policy and a pledge to tackle the county's gun violence "war zone," while fostering fairness in the criminal law system.

Speaking to a packed room Monday at her ceremonial swearing-in at The Ivy Room in Chicago, O’Neill Burke pledged to prioritize public safety by locking up violent offenders and invest in restorative justice for nonviolent offenders.

"We are going to get some seismic things done," O'Neill Burke told legislative leaders during her speech, asserting that safety and a fair criminal justice system are not mutually exclusive.

O'Neill Burke takes over the role of the county's top prosecutor been held for the past eight years by Kim Foxx. A former prosecutor, defense attorney and judge, she narrowly defeated Clayton Harris, the machine-backed pick to succeed Foxx, in the Democratic Party primary before winning more than 60 percent of the vote in last month's general election.

"Our number of shootings has risen exponentially. We have war zone numbers of people being wounded by gun violence right now. We are having a mass shooting on a regular basis," O'Neill Burke said. "We are becoming numb to the numbers. I don't want to become numb. I want to do something about it."

The new state's attorney pointed to the recent slayings of Chicago Police Officer Enrique Martinez and Oak Park Police Detective Allan Reddins as painful reminders of escalating gun violence.

As part of her commitment to curbing violence, Burke announced significant changes to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office detention policy under the SAFE-T Act.

Prosecutors will now seek pretrial detention for all felony offenses involving firearms with extended magazines, ghost guns or automatic switches. Cases involving domestic violence, stalking and sex offenses where a weapon was used — as well as all violent crimes committed on public transportation — will also result in detention requests by assistant state's attorneys.

Under the Pretrial Fairness Act, the portion the SAFE-T Act package of reforms that eliminated cash bond from state criminal courts, judges may no longer order the pretrial detention of people charged with crimes unless prosecutors ask for it.

Additional offenses targeted under O'Neill Burke's newly announced policy include murder, Class X felonies, child pornography cases and sex offenses involving victims under the age of 13 when the offender was an adult at the time.

Foxx's office never publicly released a policy regarding which cases prosecutors would seek detention on, but according to her office's final report, her office requested detention in 7,841 cases.

Prosecutors' petitions were granted in 63 percent of cases, including 95 percent for murder, 94 percent for escape, 87 percent for carjacking. Meanwhile, detention was only granted for 41 percent of the 2,186 people charged with domestic violence offenses who prosecutors sought to jail while awaiting trial.

O'Neill Burke said she has already begun taking steps to make sure assistant state's attorneys in her office are the best trained in the country., with a new curriculum including constitutional law, case law and courtroom skills.

"There is going to be no better place than right here in Cook County if you want to be a trial attorney," she said. "There is going to be no better training in the entire country than right here in Cook County."

A self-described "Chicago nerd," the new state's attorney evoked the 1893 Columbian Exposition, when Chicago had about the same number of murders as today but with half the population.

"Chicago was a city of violence, but it was also a city of opportunity," O'Neill Burke said. "So here we are, 130 years later, and we find ourselves at another crossroads. Yes, we face significant challenges with crime, but we also have so many individuals who are dedicated and ready to rise to the occasion and meet this challenge."

O'Neill Burke closed her first speech as the county's top prosecutor with the words of Daniel Burnham, author of the Plan of Chicago: “Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood. Make big plans, aim high in hope and work.”