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A collaboration between the Chicago Police Department and the
office of new Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen Burke, the
so-called “Felony Review Bypass Program” that officially
launched on Jan. 1, comes on the heels of Burke vowing as a
candidate to make being tougher on crime a key cog of her
administration.
Up until the pilot program being put in place, charging
determinations were left in the hands of prosecutors, who often
reviewed body camera footage and police reports before arriving
at any decision but under the new guidelines that decision will
now be left to the watch lieutenant on duty.
State Rep. La Shawn Ford, D-Chicago, hears concerns about the
program.
“Our goal should be to file felony convictions on the right
person,” Ford told The Center Square. “I think that we need to
make sure that the prosecutors and law enforcement work closely
together and the direction should be coming from the
prosecutor's office.”
With Englewood area residents feeling targeted already
expressing outrage over the new policy, Ford said it’s all to be
expected given some of the actions taken by city officials.
“I don't think we've followed our consent decree enough to trust
the fact that we have the ability to trust a system without some
type of review,” he said. “I mean, we still have the consent
decree that probably would be something that the consent decree
may not agree with. I don't think anybody would be in
disagreement with charging the right person, but if the goal is
to make our streets safer the best way to make them safe is to
try the right case.”
Data shows in the nearly three months since the policy went into
effect, 7th District officers have filed 22 felony gun cases. In
2024, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office rejected gun
charges in 464 of 4,200 felony cases, or at a clip of roughly
10%.
With the program slated for review every three months, Burke’s
office has pledged to provide updates on the program in the
coming weeks. |
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