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After officially being sworn in to replace Kim Foxx, Eileen
O’Neill Burke announced the Cook County State’s Attorney’s
Office will demand pretrial detention for the highest classes of
violent offenses. Under the SAFE-T Act, their focus will be on
cases involving violence on public transit, offenses involving
certain firearms, as well as domestic violence sex offenses and
crimes against children.
“Let me be clear: weapons of war, violence against the
vulnerable, and rampant harm to our communities will not be
tolerated,” Burke said. “The SAFE-T Act is a seminal piece of
legislation that instills more fairness into our system while
also requiring that prosecutors use every tool at their disposal
to give victims a voice and keep Cook County safe. I am honored
to serve as the new State’s Attorney and excited to get to
work.”
Burke’s office will also restore retail theft thresholds to the
state level of $300, not $1,000 set by Foxx.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson reacted Thursday.
“I can say this, there have been policies in the past that have
demonstrated that they are not effective,” Johnson said. “The
good news, the part that’s encouraging, is there is a collective
table of the county and the state and the city working together
to improve public safety.”
CBS Chicago reports retailers are praising the decision as a
deterrent to organized retail theft. |
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