Group accuses Cook state’s attorney of turning ‘blind eye’ to ICE crimes, seeks special prosecutor

Arguing that Cook County’s top prosecutor is “turning a blind eye” to illegal acts by federal immigration agents, a coalition of elected officials, attorneys, advocates and religious leaders is asking a judge to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the claims.

“There is overwhelming evidence of criminal conduct, much of it recorded,” a petition filed Thursday in Cook County court states. “Despite that evidence, and even though there is no barrier to a state prosecutor investigating and filing criminal charges against federal agents who commit state crimes, the State’s Attorney has taken no action to investigate or prosecute these incidents in the six months since they have occurred.”

That lack of action amounts to an abandonment of the state’s attorney’s duties, which may be the result of a conflict of interest between the office and federal authorities, the petition argues.

Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O'Neill Burke preemptively pushed back on the request earlier this week, saying it will make it more difficult for her office to prosecute and win convictions if agents broke the law.

“It is also frivolous, contrary to centuries of legal precedent and court rulings, riddled with factual errors, and ultimately hampers my office’s ability to hold ICE agents accountable,” O’Neill Burke said in a statement this week. “The stakes are too high for us to get this wrong, and I will strenuously oppose this petition.”

The 55-page petition, filed before Cook County Judge Erica L. Reddick, details a litany of alleged wrongdoing by federal immigration authorities during the fall’s Operation Midway Blitz enforcement campaign.

Those include the fatal shooting of a 38-year-old Silverio Villegas González in Franklin Park on Sept. 12, and the Oct. 4 shooting of schoolteacher Marimar Martinez in Chicago’s Brighton Park neighborhood.

“These federal agents’ attacks on Ms. Martinez and Mr. Villegas González are emblematic of, and represent only a fraction of, the crimes perpetrated against residents of Cook County during Operation Midway Blitz by then Commander-At-Large Gregory Bovino and federal agents under his command,” the petition states.

The coalition behind the request argues that O’Neill Burke’s office has a conflict of interest because of its working relationships with federal law enforcement agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security.

They also contend that her office faces “unprecedented external pressures” and the threat of retaliation from high-ranking federal officials.

“Put another way, the State’s Attorney faces intractable incentives to keep doing what she has been doing: nothing,” the petition states.

In her statement earlier this week, O’Neill Burke acknowledges “thuggish and inappropriate conduct of ICE agents in Chicago, Minnesota and across the country,” but said she’s prepared to deal with it through the prosecutorial road map her office revealed last month.

“My office’s goal is not to merely charge, but to successfully prosecute and convict criminal ICE agents,” she said. “We are obligated to follow the law, evaluate evidence that is presented to us, and make a charging decision based on the facts.”

The petition is signed by 243 individuals and organizations, including U.S. Rep. Delia Ramirez, U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, Illnois Sen. Karina Villa of West Chicago and state Rep. Norma Hernandez of Melrose Park.