Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke said one of her office’s top achievements during her first year in office has been increasing the pretrial detention rate for suspects charged with assault weapons possession, domestic violence and other violent crimes.
Since taking office, judges have granted detention in 80% of violent crime cases, 85% of aggravated domestic battery and 76% of machine gun cases, all higher than under the previous state’s attorney, Kim Foxx, according to the state’s attorney’s office.
“We are not asking for detention on every case,” Burke said. “We are asking for detention when someone presents a danger to the community, and we will continue to do that on each and every case when someone is a danger.”
Asked about the Illinois SAFE-T Act, the 2021 criminal justice reform package, Burke didn’t walk back her support for the bill, saying her office is ensuring that it has ample information and can make a compelling case for why someone should be held in detention for each request it makes.
Burke’s talk at a City Club of Chicago luncheon on Tuesday came as the issues of pretrial detention and electronic monitoring were back in the spotlight after a fiery attack on a CTA Blue Line L train last month that left a woman severely injured.
The incident garnered national attention, including from President Donald Trump, who blasted “liberal judges” and doubled down on his claim that crime in Chicago is “out of control,” a talking point he’s repeatedly used to justify plans to send federal troops into the city.
Court records show the suspect, Lawrence Reed, who now faces federal terrorism charges, had been arrested more than 70 times previously. He was also in violation of his curfew as part of his home detention on electronic monitoring.
Burke previously questioned the safety of the electronic monitoring program after it was transferred from the sheriff’s office to the Cook County chief judge this year. She also instructed her lawyers to object every time it is imposed against their wishes.
At Tuesday’s luncheon, Burke called the supplementing of pretrial detention with electronic monitoring “a false equivalency.”
But, she said she is confident that her office can work with newly sworn-in Chief Judge Charles Beach to ensure the system is effective. She said the system should include a law enforcement component to guarantee compliance.
Beach on Tuesday announced a new committee to “urgently review and improve communication procedures” for alleged electronic monitoring violations. The committee is expected to give preliminary results of its findings by the end of January.
Burke at the luncheon also pushed back on Trump and his supporters’ characterization of Chicago as a crime-ridden city, citing FBI data that ranks Chicago at 92nd in violent crimes among U.S. cities.
“If I had any request for anybody in this room, spread this word: ‘Chicago is a beautiful place to raise a family,’” she told the crowd.
At the same time, Burke also praised the partnership between her office, Chicago police, federal prosecutors and agencies in helping to “build stronger cases.”
“We’re never going to get anything done unless we start working together,” Burke said. “This whole vilification on the other side, or people who don’t think exactly how I do on things, it just grinds everything to a halt.”
Those remarks came after protesters interrupted Burke’s talk at two different times.
Two protesters criticized Burke for increasing Cook County’s jail population while crime rates are going down, shouting, “Burke and Trump are the same, lock you up and pass the blame.”
Other protesters urged Burke to investigate the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview.
Burke said her office’s authority doesn’t cover federal agents’ actions in their official capacity. Still, she sees the feds’ deportation blitz in Chicago as eroding the trust law enforcement, including local police, has in the community, and said her office has filed a brief in support of Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s lawsuit blocking National Guard deployment in Chicago.
“Our victims and our witnesses will not come forward. They will not come to court, and if they don’t come to court, we have to dismiss charges and release very violent predators back out into the community,” Burke said of the harm of federal agents’ presence at courthouses.
Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice, the group behind the cash bail elimination portion of the SAFE-T Act, also criticized Burke’s policies for undermining the legislation and increasing the county’s jail population ahead of her talk.
“This trend is particularly alarming as it comes at a time when Cook County is continuing to experience a historic decrease in both violence and property crimes,” the organization said in a statement. “By resurrecting the failed policies of mass incarceration, State’s Attorney Burke is making our communities less safe and rolling back progress toward making Cook County’s courts more equitable.