COOK COUNTY — Two Democratic candidates with different approaches to criminal justice are vying to become the next Cook County state’s attorney in what may be the most high-profile — and most contentious — local race in the March 19 primary.
Retired appellate court judge Eileen O’Neill Burke is facing off against attorney and university lecturer Clayton Harris III. Both worked early in their careers as assistant state’s attorneys in Cook County.
Along with Republican Bob Fioretti and Libertarian Charles Kopiniski, the Democratic candidates hope to replace outgoing State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, who announced last year she would not seek reelection.
Since ousting Anita Alvarez to take office in 2016, Foxx’s hallmarks as top prosecutor have included overturning wrongful convictions, advocating to end cash bail and other reforms.
But Foxx’s two terms have also been marked by controversy and widespread criticism. That includes accusations Foxx mishandled the infamous case of actor Jussie Smollett, who was convicted of disorderly conduct for fabricating a hate crime in early 2019.
Now, the State’s Attorney’s Office will have a new leader for the first time in eight years.
O’Neill Burke has highlighted her experience as a lawyer and judge, where she’s spent her entire career “in the courtroom.” Harris has emphasized his role as former chief of staff at the Illinois Department of Transportation and other management jobs in government on top of his work teaching public policy.
Harris has been endorsed by the Cook County Democratic Party, whose leader, Toni Preckwinkle, is often cited as Foxx’s political mentor. O’Neill Burke has gotten backing from wealthy businesspeople, some of them with ties to conservative candidates.
With two weeks to the election, the race has turned negative, with each campaign releasing ads attacking the other’s record and views. Both candidates spoke to Block Club Chicago about their experience and vision for the State’s Attorney’s office, which plays an enormous role in how criminal justice is meted out in Cook County.
This is part of Block Club’s ongoing coverage of the 2024 elections. Block Club will publish in-depth information on Republican Bob Fioretti and Libertarian Charles Kopiniski later in the election cycle since they are unchallenged in their respective primary elections.
Eileen O’Neill Burke
O’Neill Burke worked for a decade early in her career as a prosecutor in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.
That was followed by a stint as a criminal defense lawyer until O’Neill Burke was elected as a judge to the Cook County Circuit Court in 2008. In 2016, she was elected judge of Illinois’ First District Appellate Court, a role she held until stepping down to run for state’s attorney last year.
In an interview with Block Club this week, O’Neill Burke said her focus as the county’s top prosecutor would be “upholding the law” in cases related to automatic weapons charges, retail theft, robberies and more. She stressed that she plans to expand restorative justice courts and extracurricular programs for kids caught up in the criminal justice system.
“I would not say that I’m ‘tough on crime.’ What I do believe is that the state’s attorney’s role is to uphold the law. And I will uphold the law, but I also believe in the restorative justice programs,” O’Neill Burke said. “I’m a big believer in these programs because I’ve seen them work. Their repeat offenders rate are significantly less than the other felony trial courtrooms. They’re actually getting people back on track.”
Listen to the full interview here:
O’Neill Burke also wants to create what she’s calling a “choice protection unit” that would organize training for prosecutors to charge people with a range of crimes if they try to “thwart a woman’s right to choose” near abortion clinics or elsewhere.
Another change O’Neill Burke would make as state’s attorney is to prosecute retail thefts of $300 or more as felonies, in line with a state threshold. That would reverse Foxx’s 2016 decision to charge most retail thefts under $1,000 as misdemeanors, not felonies.
O’Neill Burke said the stricter standard would help hold repeat criminals accountable, although first-time offenders could be sent to “theft school” and have their records wiped before her office would “gradate up” to supervision or jail time.
“The law as it stands is $300 or above. You can clear out several aisles of Walgreens or a mom-and-pop grocery store before you get to $1,000. We’ve all seen the ramifications of this policy,” she said. “CVS, Walgreens, Target, Walmart, we’re seeing them close, they’re closing because of theft.”
A juvenile murder case O’Neill Burke prosecuted in the mid-’90s has garnered widespread media attention since late last year. The case was the subject of an attack ad released by Harris’ campaign this week.
In 1994, O’Neill Burke won the conviction of a 11-year-old Black boy who told a police officer he had murdered his elderly white neighbor in Marquette Park. That detective’s work in another case involving two young Black boys led to those charges being dismissed, according to WBEZ and the Tribune. That prompted a federal judge to throw out the 11-year-old boy’s arrest and confession, saying it had been coerced.
O’Neill Burke has repeatedly defended her role as prosecutor and said her opponent is trying to distort the facts of the situation for political points. Both candidates have endorsed a proposed law that would require an attorney be present for any police interrogation of a child under 18 in Illinois.
“The Appellate Court affirmed the conviction, the [Illinois] Supreme Court denied review of it eight years later, the case went to federal court and federal court found that [the juvenile’s] attorney was wrong in not trying to challenge that confession. Not that the confession was in error but that his attorney was wrong in not challenging it,” she said. “Neither that court or any other court has ever questioned my conduct in that case, or in any other case.”
Harris has also blasted O’Neill Burke for taking large donations from conservative businessmen to fund her campaign, including staging a press conference Monday where Harris called her “too extreme for this race.”
In response, O’Neill Burke said she’s “not beholden to anyone” and threw the criticism back at Harris, saying he was beholden to “every single politician” that has supported him, which includes many progressive officials from across Cook County.
As the election nears, O’Neill Burke stressed that her campaign represents a marked change from the policies adopted by Foxx’s administration.
“If [people] think things are going just fine right now, I’m not their candidate,” she said. “I have been in the courtroom every single day for the last 30 years. I’ve been on every side of the justice system. We can make this system work better for everyone.”
Clayton Harris III
Harris worked as an assistant state’s attorney for about four years early in his career. His subsequent job experience has mostly been in various government roles, including stints in former Mayor Richard M. Daley’s administration and as the chief of staff at the Illinois Department of Transportation.
In late 2008 and early 2009, Harris also served as former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s final chief of staff, helping to run the state after Blagojevich was arrested on corruption charges. Harris was never accused of wrongdoing, according to the Sun-Times.
Since 2009, Harris has lectured on public policy at the University of Chicago. He also worked as a director of public policy and government affairs for rideshare app Lyft from 2020-2022.
Listen to the full interview here:
A resident of Washington Park, Harris said he and his family frequently hear gunshots, an experience that will inform his work at the State’s Attorneys Office.
“When I talk to people about my platform being one of safety and justice, it’s a combination of both of those things, without it being an extreme on either of those,” he said. “We’re going to focus on crime, safety and justice at the same time. And the way we achieve it is by holding people accountable appropriately.”
Harris wants to set up programs for kids charged with crimes to keep them off the streets as well as expand restorative justice courts, he told Block Club. He also plans to add staff for the state’s attorney’s Special Prosecution Unit to go after gang leaders who send kids to rob people or steal cars because the consequences are lighter for minors.
“We have to hold these individuals accountable, but we need to work up and to cut off the heads of these gangs or crime syndicates, whatever you want to call them, to make sure we’re addressing the problem,” he said.
When it comes to retail theft, Harris would maintain Foxx’s $1,000 felony threshold, although he said that doesn’t mean lesser crimes can’t be prosecuted as misdemeanors. He also said smash-and-grabs and thefts with a weapon would be charged at higher levels.
Speaking with Block Club this week, Harris used the example of a child who might steal a cellphone while shopping with parents as one reason to keep the threshold where it is.
“I’m telling you flat out that we’re not going to charge a 10-year-old girl with no background, who’s never done anything before, as a felon for stealing. We’re going to hold her accountable appropriately. But do you think [it is] appropriate to put a felony on a 10-year-old or 11-year-old child’s record?” he said. “I’m not that state’s attorney.”
Harris’ work for Lyft has come under scrutiny during the campaign, particularly for his role as president in 2022 of a group called the Illinois Coalition for Independent Work, which has opposed proposals to establish minimum pay for drivers and to have them classified as employees, according to the Tribune.
A recent ad funded by O’Neill Burke called Harris an “anti-union corporate lobbyist” for his involvement in the group.
But Harris this week dismissed that criticism as “pure deflection” and cited support from grassroots organizations and the Cook County Democratic Party as proof of his pro-union bonafides.
“They understand that I was not working against workers or workers’ rights at all. I was not anti-union. I have the Cook County Democratic Party’s endorsement — no way that I’m anything even close to anti-labor or union,” he said. “What I did [at Lyft] was, we worked to try to find solutions for drivers so that they were getting benefits and the benefits of employment.”
Harris has repeatedly touted his government experience during his run for state’s attorney. He said that makes him the best candidate to manage a sprawling office of more than 700 attorneys tackling complex legal cases.
“Every serious crime that occurs in Cook County is coming through this office. You need someone who can handle that on day one, and manage. You need someone who can understand the law, manage and lead at the same time, and I’ve proven that,” he said.
Early voting for the March 19 primary is underway.
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