The Cook County State's Attorney's Office has announced a new Domestic Violence Homicide Unit.
During a news conference at her offices at 26th and California on Chicago's Southwest Side on Thursday morning, Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke said that while nearly every category of violent crime fell to historic lows last year, domestic violence moved in the opposite direction.
In fact, O'Neill Burke says Chicago Police data show that domestic violence homicides surged by 15-percent over the last two years.
And so, prosecutors are introducing the Domestic Violence Homicide Unit, with O'Neill Burke saying, "our victim witness unit stands with victims every step of the way through this court process. This new unit will have a dedicated victim witness person who will approach this work with a trauma-informed perspective that gives victims and families a shoulder to lean on during this incredibly difficult moment."
Danielle Dixon, the Chief Operating Officer with Family Rescue on the South Side, is among those applauding the CCSAO's new effort, saying, "last year at least 63 Chicagoans lost their lives to domestic violence. This is unacceptable. These 63 lives lost last year have an everlasting impact on our community. Those families and the community deserve the space to grieve their loved ones and to feel supported by the criminal legal process during this time."
The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence says ten million people in the United States are physically abused by an intimate partner every year, and the nation has seen at least 122 gun-related domestic violence fatalities so far in 2026.