Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx vowed to focus on criminal justice system reform as she was sworn in for a second term on Monday.
Foxx, the first black woman elected to the Chicago prosecutor position four years ago who endured national controversies to beat former Cook County Judge Patrick O’Brien in the Nov. 3 election, Foxx talked about how she will now prioritize substance abuse and mental health issues as well as her work to combat a rise in violent crime in the Windy City during the pandemic during a virtual ceremony in her downtown office.
“We will work to continue to fix the broken criminal justice system,” Foxx said, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Today I was sworn in to serve the people of Cook County as your State’s Attorney for a second term.
While there is still much work to do, and I cannot wait to get started, I’m immensely proud of the incredible strides we’ve made in just four short years. pic.twitter.com/k4gekd8QWS
— State’s Attorney Kim Foxx (@SAKimFoxx) December 7, 2020
On Twitter, Foxx touched on what she deemed were her proudest achievements since she first took office in 2017, which included creating a Gun Crimes Strategies Unit with which specially trained prosecutors were placed inside police districts with the highest rates of gun violence.
Transparency was another area touted by Foxx, who said her office released six years worth of raw, case-level data to the public on its website and has maintained regular updates, especially about information regarding felony, sexual assault, and domestic violence cases.
In addition, the prosecutor celebrated Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s legislation to legalize cannabis in the state, which was signed into law last year.
“We’ve expunged nearly 2,200 low-level cannabis convictions,” Foxx said. “This is reopening doors to education, housing & employment — especially for Black & Brown communities who were most impacted by the failed war on drugs.”
Foxx made national headlines for how her office handled a case involving former Empire actor Jussie Smollett, who allegedly staged a hate crime in January 2019, and scrutiny for how she dropped hundreds of charges against protesters in Chicago who took to the streets following the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. She also dropped charges against over 800 protesters who had minor infractions but continued to prosecute violent offenders, including some looters.
According to Chicago’s Fox 32, Foxx said budget restrictions were behind her move not to prosecute shoplifters who get caught stealing less than $1,000 worth of goods.
Chicago has seen a surge in violent crime, including an uptick in murders. The violent crime rate in the city rose over 50% through the end of October 2020 compared to last year. There were 655 murders recorded in Chicago this year through Oct. 31. Police shootings increased by 4 times since last year, with 67 city officers shot this year. Still, Foxx easily beat former O’Brien in the Nov. 3 election.
