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1/ Happy election day, everyone. I’m part of @wbez’s criminal justice team and today I’m covering the Cook County State’s Attorney’s race. To start, here’s a breakdown of what’s at stake.
2/ The state’s attorney is the county’s top prosecutor, in charge of a staff of more than 1k. Incumbent Kim Foxx (D) is being challenged by former judge Pat O’Brien (R) and attorney Brian Dennehy (L). Foxx and O’Brien were on @WBEZreset last week. https://www.wbez.org/stories/kim-foxx-and-pat-obrien-make-their-cases-in-states-attorney-race/0c30a6cb-71f6-4738-bc01-d8740c2d005b
3/ Foxx said she has kept the promises that got her elected in 2016 by reforming the office and pushing for broader changes in the criminal justice system.
4/ Her supporters say those changes, like pushing bail reform and overturning wrongful convictions, have had an impact on people’s lives. https://www.wbez.org/stories/to-foxxs-core-supporters-the-jussie-smollett-scandal-is-a-distraction/8d75baae-aa10-4c6f-a076-a82b43d17dc2
5/ O’Brien came up as a prosecutor in the 80s and early 90s. Now, in the midst of Chicago’s startling spike in gun violence, he’s pitching himself as a return to the traditional law-and-order approach of those previous administrations. https://www.wbez.org/stories/republican-pat-obrien-promising-law-and-order-in-bid-to-unseat-states-attorney-kim-foxx/cdf3e13a-ceac-4c7c-bb95-30e0e189d75f
6/ O’Brien says Foxx refuses to prosecute violent crimes brought to her by police.
7/ But when I looked at when and why prosecutors decline to bring charges in murder cases, I didn’t find a significant difference in how often it happens under Foxx compared to her predecessor. https://www.wbez.org/stories/even-when-chicago-police-solve-a-murder-justice-is-not-always-served/cafd7e56-4ba8-4c59-8362-416c62c8fcaa
8/ Foxx says it's “appalling” O’Brien is pushing a more aggressive approach because of his connections to wrongful convictions. When he was a prosecutor, O’Brien won the convictions of four teenagers who were later freed by DNA evidence. More in this ep: https://www.thisamericanlife.org/210/perfect-evidence
9/ So there you have it! Keep following this thread for more info and results for the 2020 race to be Cook County’s top prosecutor.
