CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — The major party candidates vying to replace Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx have sharply different perspectives on dealing with police misconduct and the end of cash bail in Illinois.
Former Judge Eileen O'Neill Burke, the Democratic candidate, and former Ald. Bob Fioretti, the Republican candidate, both have said they'll prosecute police officers who do wrong.
Fioretti, though, has campaigned on the promise to back the police and feels the problem isn't widespread.
“When people break the law, they have to be prosecuted, but a few bad apples in a barrel does not destroy all of the apples,” he said. “The few that may be … creating an issue in the department are few and far between.”
O'Neill Burke said she wants to prevent problems. Part of her plan includes placing new prosecutors and new police cadets together in a class about constitutional policing and the kinds of legal issues they’ll face every day.
They'll understand each other better, she said.
“We are going to have the best-versed-in-the-law state’s attorney’s in this entire country, but what if we could also have the best-versed-in-the-law police department?” she said. “That’s a game changer.”
As for the Pre-Trial Fairness Act, Fioretti has criticized the measure since its inception. It eliminated cash bail in Illinoi, and he told WBBM it allows some potentially dangerous suspects to be freed pending trial.
“Let’s take a look at an assault on a police officer, and I believe it’s an aggravated assault on a police officer, aggravated assault on a senior citizen — they are not detainable offenses,” he said. “We should be looking at what to do, and I know you’re giving me that quizzical look, but the truth of the matter is they’re not.”
The law, though, said defendants facing such charges can be held if prosecutors prove they are dangerous or flight risks. O'Neill Burke said they'll do that for people caught with assault weapons and for other offenses if she's elected.
“Every single time someone is found with one of these guns, we are going to ask for detention and jail time,” she said. “We need to change the peoples’ perception that there is no consequence [for] carrying these weapons. We’re also going to ask for detention each and every time a weapon is displayed in a forcible felony.”
Andrew Kopinski, a Libertarian candidate, is also in this race.
The race for Cook County State's Attorney takes center stage on WBBM’s “At Issue” program, which airs every Sunday at 9:30 a.m. and 9:30 p.m.
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