Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx announced she will not be running for reelection in 2024.
Foxx has held her position for two terms, drawing national attention for her handling of the Jussie Smollett case and alleged mismanagement of her office. In a speech on Tuesday, she said that she didn’t make her decision lightly, and she defended her record against critics.
MASS EXODUS FROM PROSECUTOR KIM FOXX’S OFFICE AMID CHICAGO CRIME WAVE
“When I came into office, we were known as the false confession capital of the United States,” Foxx said, ABC 7 Chicago reported. “It is in the interest of public safety that we exercise criminal justice reform. They are inextricably linked. And for anybody who says we have to choose one or the other, that’s why I think we will continue to see violence in communities that lack trust in our system. I will not be on next year’s ballot, by my choice, I do this decision. I didn’t take it lightly.”
Foxx blamed the rise of violent crime on the pandemic, saying it was out of her hands.
“I refute the supposition that where we find ourselves today with the rise in violent crime that coincides with the once-in-a-lifetime pandemic is somehow the result of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office,” Foxx said.
She also touched on the mass exodus of prosecutors from her office, highlighted in a resignation letter from former Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney Jim Murphy in July.
However, Foxx alleged that the increase in resignations was due to the COVID-19 pandemic and had nothing to do with the supposed low morale highlighted by Murphy, who also bashed Foxx for her alleged politicization of the office and soft-on-crime policies.
“I can no longer work for this Administration. I have zero confidence in leadership,” he wrote. “This administration is more concerned with political narratives and agendas than with victims and prosecuting violent crime. … That is why I can’t stay any longer.”
In the audience of Foxx’s Tuesday address was former state House Republican Leader Jim Durkin, who leveled another criticism against the prosecutor when speaking with ABC 7 Chicago.
“Her legacy is not going to be very good, it is going to be one in which, from my perspective, that the rights of defendants were placed above victims,” he said.
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Democratic Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson released a statement regarding Foxx’s announcement, in which he praised her record.
“Kim Foxx made history as the first Black woman elected as Cook County state’s attorney, and has been instrumental in working to reform the Conviction Bond Office, which has resulted in overturning nearly 200 wrongful convictions, expunging more than 15,000 cannabis crimes, and bringing equity to a criminal justice system that has long disenfranchised people and communities of color,” he said. “She has led her office with dignity and civility, and as a colleague at the county level, I am grateful for the work that she has accomplished in her two terms. I wish her all the best in her future endeavors.”
