Former Court of Appeals Judge Joins Cook County Attorney’s Candidacy to Replace Kim Fox
Eileen O’Neill Burke, who resigned as a state court of appeals judge earlier this month, has announced that she will succeed Kim Fox as the Cook County state attorney.
O’Neal Burke, a former deputy state attorney who was elected to a seat on the Chicago-based First Circuit Court of Appeals in 2016, held a fundraiser at Plummer’s 130 Hall in Chicago on July 26 to support the Democratic nominee. start candidacy for . O’Neill Burke is the second candidate to enter the race to replace Fox, who announced in April that he would not seek a third term in office.
O’Neill Burke joins Clayton Harris, a public policy professor at the University of Chicago who won endorsements from County Democratic Commissioner and County Commissioner Toni Prekwinkle at a pre-scheduled event for party officials in June. Prickwinkle also backed two stormy but successful campaigns for Fox.
O’Neal Burke’s campaign sent a copy of her biography Thursday in response to a request for comment from the Chicago Sun-Times. As of Thursday, her campaign had not submitted any campaign funding paperwork, but candidates are not required to do so until they have raised $5,000 or more. Harris filed her campaign funding papers last week, but did not provide any information that she had raised the money.
O’Neill Burke was an assistant state attorney for 10 years, “serving felony appeals while overseeing other attorneys’ appeals,” as well as serving in juvenile court and felony trials. After serving as a state attorney, he worked as a defense attorney before winning a seat on the Cook County Circuit Court Judge in 2008 and on the Court of Appeals in 2016.
O’Neal Burke was born and raised on the Northwest Side and lived in Park Ridge for 20 years before moving to the South Loop. Her husband, John Burke, is the managing partner of the Chicago branch of the giant Ice Miller law firm.
Whether or not to take a “crime-tough” approach to the job depends on the campaign profile, following two successful campaigns by Fox, where O’Neill Burke won his first term by bolstering his reform-minded platform. was not clear. Due to the wave of protests after the shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald.
Mr. Fox said in a special response to the indictment of actor Jussie Smollett for facilitating a hate crime attack amid a surge in violent crime amid the COVID-19 pandemic and nationwide protests. He won re-election in 2020 despite prosecutor’s investigations.
O’Neill Burke, who stepped off the appeals court bench on July 3, has already signed several campaign staffers from Fox’s team.
In his bio, O’Neill Burke wrote that leading the state attorney’s office “is to ensure that the system focuses on safety and fairness, rather than indefinitely imprisoning people for poverty or mental illness.” We need thoughtful reform and restorative justice.”
“Above all, Eileen knows that state attorneys cannot succeed without the trust of the public.”
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https://chicago.suntimes.com/city-hall/2023/7/13/23794342/former-appellate-court-judge-enters-race-to-replace-kim-foxx-as-top-cook-county-prosecutor Former Court of Appeals Judge Joins Cook County Attorney’s Candidacy to Replace Kim Fox