Race for Chicago-area prosecutor seat features tough-on-crime judge, lawyer with Democratic backing
CHICAGO– An open seat to lead the nation’s second-largest prosecutor’s office has become one of the liveliest races in the Illinois primary, with a Democratic showdown between a tough-on-crime judge and a union-backed attorney. the establishment.
The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office consists of Eileen O’Neill Burke, a former appellate judge with a large campaign war chest, versus Clayton Harris III, a professor and former prosecutor who has held government posts.
The race is the latest example of how the legacy of progressive Democrats who stormed into big-city prosecutors over the past decade has been fractured. Some, including in Los Angeles, are facing tough re-election bids, with progressive policies to blame for the perception that cities are less safe. Others have resigned or may face prosecution.
In Chicago, Democrats hoping to replace retiring State’s Attorney Kim Foxx are walking a line, saying they will maintain some of her progressive policies while also being critical of her tenure.
“We should be thriving, and it’s not because of crime,” said O’Neill Burke, who has been more openly critical of Foxx. “This is something we can solve.”
Meanwhile, Harris says punishments must be appropriate and take racial disparities into account: “We can focus on keeping our communities safe without sacrificing justice.”
Neither candidate has high name recognition. But the winner of Tuesday’s primary in heavily Democratic Cook County is expected to emerge victorious in November.
It’s an open race because Foxx, who easily won her first two elections, declined to run a third time. Her leadership was praised by reformers but also reviled for being weak on crime and handling high-profile cases like Jussie Smollett.
One of the campaign issues was the future of Foxx’s controversial policy of not prosecuting shoplifting as a misdemeanor unless the value of the stolen goods is more than $1,000. State law sets a misdemeanor threshold of $300.
Harris said he would continue the practice.
“If someone comes and takes my cell phone, is that cell phone worth a crime on your record? I don’t think so,” he said. “We look at recidivism. We charge everyone appropriately.”
O’Neill Burke said she would scrap it.
“It doesn’t deter crime, it promotes it,” she said of Foxx’s change.
In other cities, progressive policies are also blamed for crime and homelessness. In fact, violent crime, including murders and shootings, in Chicago and nationwide has largely fallen to the same levels as before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón survived a nonpartisan primary this month but expects a tough election in November. Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner is facing the possibility of an impeachment trial. In San Francisco, Chesa Boudin was recalled by voters, while St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner resigned.
In the Chicago area, both candidates say Foxx has made significant progress. The district attorney’s office has more than 700 attorneys and is the largest after Los Angeles.
O’Neill Burke said she would continue restorative justice efforts for youth and credited Foxx with diversifying the workforce. Harris has held up Foxx’s conviction review unit, which has overturned wrongful convictions, as a national model.
Harris says the prosecutor needs to improve relations with law enforcement.
During his campaign, he spoke about his personal life as a black man raising children on Chicago’s South Side, as well as his professional experience helping run government and lobbying elected leaders.
“Being a black man. I’ve been arrested before for no reason,” he said. “We can have safe communities without being racially profiled.”
Harris has scrutinized O’Neill Burke’s record as an assistant state’s attorney. He has spotlighted a decades-old murder case in which O’Neill Burke, who is white, helped prosecute a black child on charges that he killed an older white woman when he was 10 years old.
The conviction was thrown out by a federal judge who ruled that the boy’s confession was coerced by police and taken without a parent or attorney present.
O’Neill Burke now says she will advocate for stronger legal protections for children under questioning, but she would not change her work on the 1994 case since the boy’s attorney and parents were in court when he took the stand and repeated the confession.
“No one has ever questioned my conduct in this case or in any other case,” she said, calling Harris’ campaign ads on the case a “distraction” to voters.
Harris disagrees.
“Rather than acknowledge that mistakes have been made, there has been a doubling down,” he said. “That’s the wrong attitude.”
When it comes to fundraising, O’Neill Burke leads the way, with about double Harris’ amount, just under $2 million compared to about $750,000. Her amount includes money from top Republican donors.
But Harris has received significant support from labor unions, progressive leaders and the Cook County Democratic Party.
His Democratic ties are a prime target for O’Neill Burke.
Harris briefly served as chief of staff to former Gov. Rod Blagojevich and helped oversee the office after Blagojevich was arrested and ultimately convicted. Harris was not accused of wrongdoing.
O’Neill Burke sees Harris as a “Democratic insider” as he tries to tie his lobbying efforts to anti-abortion Republicans. Her campaign promises, among other things, the creation of a unit within the prosecutor’s office to protect abortion rights.
“I have spent every day of the last thirty years in a courtroom from every point of view. That is a significant advantage,” she said in an interview. “He has been answerable to politicians throughout his career and you can’t answer to a politician in this job.”
Also in the primary is Republican former Chicago City Councilman Bob Fioretti, who lost a bid for office in 2020.