(WBBM NEWSRADIO) – The Cook County State’s Attorney Democratic Primary remains too close to call this afternoon.
As of 1:30 p.m., with 84% of the votes counted, the Associated Press reports Eileen O'Neill Burke has a nearly 9,400 vote lead over Clayton Harris III, a two percentage point lead of 51-49%.
While O'Neill Burke, a former appellate court judge, took an early lead as the results came in, Harris, a professor and lawyer, closed the gap considerably by late Tuesday night. Tens of thousands of votes have yet to be tabulated.
“We are cautiously optimistic, but we have to make sure all the votes are counted,” O’Neill Burke told supporters at her election-night gathering.
Similarly, Harris told his camp a little later: "While the votes are still are coming in, we have to make sure, and we will make sure, that every voice is counted and every voice is heard."
Whoever clears the primary contest is considered a shoo-in to win in November in the Democratic stronghold of Cook.
It’s the first time since 2008 that there was an open race in the Chicago-area prosecutor’s office. Incumbent Kimberly Foxx, whose two terms included the Jussie Smollett controversy, declined to seek re-election.
During the heated primary, O’Neill Burke faced criticisms she is too conservative to run the nation’s second-largest state’s attorney’s office. While the former judge and prosecutor signaled she would be tougher on crime than progressive Foxx, she also said she would pursue restorative-justice initiatives.
Harris netted key labor and party endorsements but trailed O’Neill Burke in fundraising.
O’Neill Burke and Harris both supported the end of cash bail in Illinois.
Also running for stat e’s attorney are Republican former Chicago Alderman Bob Fioretti, who lost a 2020 bid for the office, and Libertarian Andrew Charles Kopinski.
Addressing her many supporters at RPM Events in River North, O'Neill Burke said moving the Cook County State's Attorneys Office in a new direction is what the people and prosecutors all want.
"While we cannot declare a victory yet, I know that every single assistant state's attorney past or present knows that feeling of pride when they stand up in court and say, 'I am here on behalf of the people of the state of Illinois,'" O'Neill Burke said.
At Harris campaign headquarters, there was no celebration but no defeat either.
"Let's march forth, hand-in-hand, towards a future where safety and justice are not just aspirations but the reality here in Cook County," Harris said.
Contributing: The Associated Press, WBBM reporters Terry Keshner and Andy Dahn
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