A Cook County judge on Thursday refused to install a special prosecutor to probe alleged crimes stemming from the Operation Midway Blitz deportation campaign last year.
During a hearing at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse, Cook County Circuit Court Judge Erica Reddick flatly rejected the arguments of a broad coalition that sought a special prosecutor to target the federal agents who carried out the immigration enforcement effort, which rocked the Chicago area for months.
The coalition of elected officials, clergy, journalists and attorneys had argued an outside lawyer is needed because Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke had turned a “blind eye” to “egregious acts of violence” by the federal agents. They further claimed O’Neill Burke’s close working relationship with the feds amounted to a conflict of interest.
Reddick’s ruling serves as a major victory for the county’s top prosecutor, who had fought the petition to appoint a special prosecutor and argued such a move could actually hinder efforts to prosecute crimes tied to Midway Blitz.
O’Neill Burke called the petition “meritless” and said the state’s attorney’s office has developed a “protocol” for prosecuting federal agents, but added that local law enforcement has yet to seek charges in any cases.
“Judge Reddick gave a very thoughtful and thorough ruling today, which clearly established that the state’s attorney’s office is the office to prosecute cases, and that there was no basis in law or in fact to appoint a special prosecutor,” O’Neill Burke told reporters after the hearing.
Lawyers for the coalition said they were disappointed in Reddick’s decision but were prepared to put pressure on local law enforcement, including the Chicago Police Department, to investigate federal agents’ alleged “criminality.”
“We will be knocking on their doors,” said Locke Bowman, an attorney representing the coalition. “… And when the investigations happen, we will expect that, pursuant to her protocol, the Cook County state’s attorney undertake the appropriate next step — which is prosecution and conviction — of criminal federal law enforcement officers.”
Calls for the investigation and prosecution of federal agents intensified early this year, following the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by immigration authorities in Minneapolis.
The October shooting in Chicago of Marimar Martinez by a Border Patrol agent prompted a federal investigation, according to her attorney. But it wasn’t until late April that the Illinois State Police began investigating the September killing of Silverio Villegas González by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Franklin Park.
The Illinois State Police investigation began at the request of Franklin Park police. O’Neill Burke’s office has promised to play a “supportive role” in the probe.
The group behind the special prosecutor push filed its petition March 12. The coalition includes local U.S. Reps. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, Jonathan Jackson and Delia Ramirez (all Democrats) and former U.S. District Chief Judge Ruben Castillo, appointed to the bench in 1994 by President Bill Clinton.
It also includes the Chicago News Guild, which represents journalists at the Chicago Sun-Times.
In addition to the shootings of Martinez and González, the group has pointed to batteries, assaults, kidnappings and other violence, all allegedly at the hands of federal agents.
Castillo led a separate group, known as the Illinois Accountability Commission, that last month accused the agents of regularly using force against Illinois residents “without justification.” The commission, formed by Gov. JB Pritzker, referred its findings to O’Neill Burke along with other prosecutors and police departments. Its work seemed to trigger the recent investigation into González’s death.
“The road to accountability just got longer,” Castillo said after the hearing. “The road is going to be a little bit longer, and justice is going to be delayed, but justice will come.”
O’Neill Burke insisted her office can bring charges only “after receiving a completed investigation from a law enforcement agency.”
Prosecuting federal agents in state court would require showing that they acted unreasonably while fulfilling their duties. Prosecutors like O’Neill Burke have discretion to choose which cases they pursue, and she released guidance outlining her approach in February.
Under the plan, a law enforcement agency would lead a criminal investigation by collecting and preserving evidence. Then, prosecutors would conduct an independent review of all evidence and make charging decisions.
The coalition had filed a petition that accused O’Neill Burke of turning a “blind eye” to “egregious acts of violence” by Midway Blitz agents. The coalition complained she’d “never stated publicly that she has any intention to investigate these crimes,” and it suggested she might fear White House retaliation.
O’Neill Burke countered that she’s not intimidated by “vague” threats of political retaliation. She called the coalition’s efforts “frivolous” and “heavy-handed” and said it could actually “thwart” justice.
Then the coalition pointed to emails sent last August, when President Donald Trump threatened to deploy National Guard troops into Chicago. O’Neill Burke’s office declined to sign on to a statement criticizing the Trump administration because she wanted to maintain her “excellent working relationships” with federal law enforcement.
“The State’s Attorney has an alliance with federal law enforcement that prevents her from taking action against the federal agents alleged to have committed crimes during Operation Midway Blitz,” the coalition’s lawyers wrote.
Neither the reporters nor editors who worked on this story — including some represented by the News Guild — have been involved in the litigation described in this article.