Eileen O’Neill Burke

CHICAGO – Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke marked six months in office by issuing her administration’s transition report, an effort designed to assess the state of the office and make tangible recommendations to improve the criminal justice system in Cook County.

The final product serves as a compass to chart a path forward, focusing on data-driven and community-informed strategies, to ensure the office achieves its core mission of promoting safety, justice and accountability for the residents of Cook County. The transition report can be read at https://www.cookcountystatesattorney.org/transition.

The transition committee was chaired by Chicago Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd); Community Commission for Public Safety ad Accountability President Anthony Driver; and Chicago Create Real Economic Destiny founder and former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan; and brought together a range of perspectives and expertise on the issues facing the office. The coalition of stakeholders shared the common goal of making the criminal justice system work more effectively for people at various touch points: victims and witnesses who need more support and services while navigating traumatic events; law enforcement officers whose investigations and testimony are critical to prosecutions; and defendants who are entitled to a fair day in court. None of this can be accomplished without a collaborative relationship with law enforcement and investment on resources, from both public and private partners, that enable front-line prosecutors to pursue justice with the highest degree of professionalism and training.

“Community safety requires the community’s wisdom and as a a result, we have assembled a phenomenal, diverse team of experts to provide us with guidance, advice, and concrete recommendations on how we can better fulfill our responsibilities,” State’s Attorney Burke said. “We can create a justice system that s more responsive, more inclusive, and more effective for everyone, and this report serves as a blue print. I am thrilled to share it and am eternally grateful for the transition committee’s commitment to this effort.” The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office transition report reflects nine targeted initiatives identified by Burke that will improve public safety, ensure justice and build community trust. Transition team members met in designated subcommittees since December to collaborate, deliberate, and ultimately provide recommendations in the priority areas of:

– Gun violence reduction

– Domestic violence, hate crimes and special victims cases

– Conviction integrity

– Juvenile diversion

– Choice protection

– Public corruption

– Diversion, addiction and mental health

– Training and professional development

– Public policy

Co-chairs Dowell, Driver and Duncan lauded Burke’s leadership in assembling a team of subject matter experts and identifying priorities that will make a difference in people’s lives.

“The goals set for her team are concrete and necessary — and have the potential to catapult public safety throughout Cook County to the next level. We are energized by the insight captured in each of the Subcommittee reports,” they wrote in an opening letter for the report.

The veteran civic leaders also issued a call to action: “We are acutely aware that implementing the recommendations provided and achieving the goals articulated will not be easy and will require political will — and additional resources. The CCSAO must make significant and costly investments in technological tools, equipment, and systems to promote transparency and improve performance for all criminal justice stakeholders. Investment in technology will also ensure that cases do not linger in the criminal system for years.”

Since taking office on Dec. 2, Burke has implemented a series of policy changes and structural reforms aimed at reshaping the office and focusing on violent crimes that destroy lives, devastate communities, and shatter the perception of security across the Chicago area. On her first day on the job, Burke issued a detention policy related to the proliferation of machine gun conversions (also known as switches), ghost guns, drums, and extended magazines.

In February, Burke announced that the policy would be mirrored for offenders convicted of using or possessing the weapons: prosecutors are now seeking prison time in every one of these cases. She also instructed prosecutors to seek detention for offenders charged with felony crimes on public transit.

Burke also announced that prosecutors would pursue felony retail theft charges in accordance with state law when the value of the goods exceeds $300, or when an offender already has a felony shoplifting conviction. For the previous eight years, CCSAO policy held that felony charges would be brought only when the value of the goods exceeded $1,000, or if the offender had 10 or more convictions.

On the priority of guns, the office launched a Felony Review Bypass pilot program that streamlines the charging process for lower-level felony gun cases, easing a strain on police and prosecutor resources across Chicago. The pilot was launched in January in the Chicago Police Department’s Seventh District (Englewood) and expanded in April to the CPD’s Fifth Police District (Calumet) and enables responding police officers, in consultation with their supervisors, to file certain low-level nonviolent felony gun possession charges directly instead of waiting for CCSAO felony review approval, which can sometimes take hours. This far, every bypass case has withstood legal scrutiny via either a preliminary hearing or grand jury indictment, and expansion of the program is being planned. The Illinois General Assembly signed off on two of Burke’s legislative priorities, a bill that ensures that first-time, non-violent felony gun possession offenders can receive a Firearm Owner Identification card upon successful completion of a diversion program – eliminating a roadblock for otherwise law-abiding citizens to come into compliance with the law, along with legislation that ensures sensitivity to victims of sexual abuse and expands the statute of limitations on certain crimes.

Shootings and homicides in Chicago are trending to their lowest numbers in a decade, including the fewest incidents in April since 1962, and the least gun violence over Memorial Day weekend in at least 16 years.

According to Chicago Police Department statistics, shooting incidents from Jan 1-June 1 dropped 34 percent compared to the same period in 2024, and homicides declined by 27 percent. Robberies and carjackings have also decreased. “One shooting is one too many, and there is still so much work to do before Chicagoans have the sense of safety and well-being, we all want and deserve,” Burke said. “We are seeing real, unmistakable progress. however, and that is a testament to what can happen when law enforcement, prosecutors and all stakeholders work collaboratively and creatively to solve problems. Now is the time to dig deeper and keep moving forward.”