Eileen O'Neill Burke: 2024 candidate for Cook County state’s attorney
Bio
Party: Democrat
Office Sought: Cook County state’s attorney
City: Chicago
Age: 58
Occupation: Retired Appellate Judge
Previous offices held: Circuit Court Judge, Appellate Judge
Why are you running for this office, whether for reelection or election for the first time? Is there a particular issue that motivates you? If so, what?
I’m running for State’s Attorney because the criminal justice system isn’t working for anyone right now — not victims, witnesses, or defendants — and we need to make it better. With thirty years of working in the criminal justice system as a prosecutor, criminal defense attorney, and judge, I’ve seen the system from all sides, and I know I can make a difference.
I want to completely reimagine what it means to be a State’s Attorney through a robust restorative justice bureau that gets people’s lives back on track coupled with a felony prosecution division that is the best-trained trial lawyers in the country.
I was born and raised here, I met my husband here, and we raised our four children here. My family has been here for generations. I want my children to live here and raise their children here. But I want them to live in a county that is safe.
If you are an incumbent, describe your main contributions. Tell us of any important initiatives you've led. If you are a challenger, what would you bring to the board and what would your priority be?
I served as a Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney for 10 years prosecuting misdemeanor and felony cases. I then worked as a criminal defense attorney, representing defendants in every courthouse in Cook County. I was elected to the Circuit Court of Cook County in 2008. In 2016, I was elected to serve in the First District Appellate Court. I issued over 800 written decisions in civil and criminal cases, I reviewed over 1,800 trial court decisions.
My priority is to increase public safety while protecting everyone’s Constitutional rights. This will be accomplished by creating the best-trained prosecutors in the nation who are well-versed in both the law and courtroom skills. We will also have an effective program where we can get people we can back on track, using tested programs that have significantly fewer repeat offenders. My goal is to get our crime rates down, by enforcing the law in a fair and just manner.
What crime should be the office’s top target? Drugs? Gang violence? Child sex abuse? Something else? Why? What steps will you take to address the priorities as you see them?
My top priority is tackling the surge of gun violence in our community. Ordinary handguns have been converted into automatic weapons with simple switches and extended magazines. The number of mass shootings our community faces has exponentially increased and it is unacceptable. Additionally, gun violence or any violent crime perpetrated on patrons using mass transit must end. We cannot have a vibrant, successful Cook County unless people can safely and affordably travel throughout this region.
Describe your position regarding the allocation of resources in the state's attorney's office. Are personnel allocated as they should be? Are there capital expenses or other budgetary items that the office must address, and, if so, how do you propose to address them?
I will conduct a comprehensive top to bottom review of our staffing structures and orientate them to maximum efficiency and effectiveness. But our top priority is to recruit new talent into the State’s Attorney office to buttress our felony prosecutor efforts and build out our restorative justice division. Curriculum needs to be developed to train prosecutors and integrate that training apparatus with law enforcement. Those capital expenditures will be my top priority when I take office.
Name one concrete program you’ll create or personnel move you’ll make to improve efficiency in the office or make it more successful. Explain how it will be funded and how you will overcome any obstacles to initiating it.
I will reiterate my previous answer as it was the core recommendation I made during this campaign. We have to have a robust felony prosecutor division to go after violent crime and a restorative justice bureau to handle low level offenses where the offender can get back on track before they turn to violent crime. We will seek out grant funding to ensure that Cook County is innovative and effective in the prosecution of crime. The goal is to get our crime rates down effectively while also getting as many people turned around as possible.
In order to address the crime surge that Cook County is experiencing, we need to work with state, county and federal agencies to enable us to be the most effective crime fighting agency.