ICYMI: Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke Reflects On Progress Made During First Year In Office
CHICAGO — At the conclusion of her first year in office, Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke sat down with WGN-TV anchor Patrick Elwood for a wide-ranging interview that spanned the new administration’s Day One priorities and public safety accomplishments, as well as Burke’s personal roots as a fourth-generation Chicagoan.
During their conversation, State’s Attorney Burke described her administration’s relentless focus on combating gun violence, as well as how bolstered staffing at First Appearance Court have enabled prosecutors to be more successful in seeking pre-trial detention for violent offenders. In one example, increased collaboration with other justice system stakeholders, including the Clerk of the Circuit Court and the Office of the Chief Judge, have granted prosecutors greater access to relevant criminal and civil records, allowing prosecutors to paint the fullest possible picture for judges to make detention decisions. As a result, with respect to felony aggravated domestic battery charges, prosecutors under Burke have requested detention in 96% of cases and it has been granted 85% of the time. Under the previous administration, detention was sought in 84% of such cases but only approved 61% of the time.
The full segment can be watched HERE.
Selected excerpts:
- “At the 26th and California courthouse, the morale among prosecutors has come a long way in the past 12 months. The same holds true for the 16 others in the Cook County system ... Credit Eileen O’Neill Burke, the State’s Attorney who took office one year ago this week.”
- “From her first day on the job, O’Neill Burke went about filling staff vacancies. … Eileen O’Neill Burke credits the county board for recognizing such deficiencies and, as a result, increasing her budget. She says every day she works to keep her campaign promise to represent the victims of crime and aggressively prosecute the perpetrators.”
- “The rule of law is paramount to her. You could call it a family affair. She can trace her law enforcement roots back generations.”
- “Among some of her first moves was to implement as State’s Attorney mandatory officewide training, including a new curriculum and orientation bootcamp for incoming attorneys.”
For more information, please contact the CCSAO communications office at (312) 603-3423, or email: sao.media@cookcountysao.org.
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