Cook County will have not only a new chief prosecutor, but perhaps a new, more traditional approach to prosecuting criminal activity in Chicago and its near suburbs in 2025, after former judge Eileen O'Neill Burke claimed the win in the race for the Democratic nomination for Cook County State's Attorney.
On Friday, March 29, while some ballots may still remain to be counted, former judge O'Neill Burke declared victory in the tight contest over attorney and lobbyist Clayton Harris III, who enjoyed the backing of Chicago's Democratic Party bosses and the left-wing coalition that backed current controversy-plagued Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx.
In a statement released late Friday afternoon, Burke congratulated Harris "on a hard-fought campaign," saying she believed they shared the same "love for our beautiful city and Cook County."
Noting the vote counting that has continued over 10 days since the March 19 primary election, Burke said "it was worth the wait," and she thanked voters for her victory.
"Across every neighborhood and every town in Cook County, people told me the same thing: we want a fair criminal justice system that works for everyone. We want a professional and effective State’s Attorney’s Office. We want illegal guns and assault weapons off our streets. We want less crime and safer communities, not by locking everyone up, but by turning people around," Burke said.
"Whether you voted for me or not, I promise to work tirelessly as your State’s Attorney. I still feel the pride in my chest swell up when I remember stepping up in court as a young prosecutor and saying I was there on behalf of the People.
"The State’s Attorney’s office has a noble mission to represent victims and uphold the law. It’s a solemn obligation that I will take on with humility and dedication."
After initially indicating they may continue to contest the results, Harris' campaign also conceded to Burke Friday evening and indicated they will not pursue a recount.
"I am so proud of the campaign we ran, and I am honored to have had the opportunity to share my vision for a safer and more just Cook County with all of you," Harris said in a statement posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, noting he had called to congratulate O'Neill Burke.
"... While we have fallen just a bit short of victory, our work is far from over. We must continue to demand accountability, transparency, and fairness from our justice system."
According to unofficial vote tallies from the Cook County Clerk and the Chicago Board of Elections, Burke had received 264,289 votes to 262,733 for Harris.
After Burke stormed out to a seemingly big lead according to preliminary returns on Election Night, Harris continued to carve into her margin for days, as the election authorities said they were continuing to count mail-in ballots, ballots deposited in so-called drop boxes and provisional and absentee ballots.
The counting was marred by eyebrow-raising events, such as a dump of thousands of ballots, which the Chicago Board of Elections claims to have "found" days after the election. Harris won more than 60% of those votes, vaulting him significantly closer to Burke and allowing him to hold off on conceding for days longer.
Harris also consistently overperformed his Election Day numbers in later batches of ballots counted after Election Day.
That consistent pro-Harris count stirred accusations from Burke supporters and other observers - though not from Burke herself or her campaign - of underhanded efforts to push Harris over Burke, aimed at the Chicago Democratic power structure that bankrolled and supported Harris' campaign.
Ultimately, Burke and Harris agreed that there were simply not enough votes remaining to be counted to allow Harris to surmount Burke's lead.
In statements posted online, both campaigns thanked the other for upholding the "integrity" of the protracted vote count.
According to precinct vote maps, Burke won throughout most of Cook County's suburbs, and certain parts of the city of Chicago, while Harris carried heavily black precincts on Chicago's South Side and white progressive enclaves elsewhere in the city. In many ways, Harris' performance copied the election performance of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson within the city of Chicago proper, but did not generate enough votes within the city to negate Burke's performance in the suburbs.
Based on social media reports, Burke may have also benefited from crossover support from Republican voters, who may have pulled Democratic ballots in the primary specifically to vote for Burke in a bid to ensure the reversal of some of the more controversial policies of Kim Foxx's tenure.
Those policies largely defined the race, with the two candidates offering voters a stark choice in crime-fighting philosophy.
O'Neill Burke retired as an appellate justice in 2023 after 33 years on the bench to seek election as state's attorney with the clear intent to undo Foxx's policies, both in terms of prosecuting crime and in running the State's Attorney's office.
Foxx was elected in 2016 with the backing of Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, as well as the backing from organizations affiliated with billionaire George Soros - organizations that have made no secret of their desire to install prosecutors in district attorney and state's attorney offices nationwide committed to the goal of emptying jails and allowing many accused criminals to walk on soft or no charges.
In Cook County, for instance, Foxx has instituted a host of policies and initiatives that have routinely placed her at odds with police and many in the public, including refusing to prosecute anyone who shoplifts less than $1,000 in merchandise from stores, and lax prosecution efforts against people accused of violent crimes, even those committed with guns.
These policy choices have, at best, coincided with a sharp increase in criminal activity in Chicago and many surrounding suburbs on Foxx's watch. Critics say the policy and legal changes backed by Foxx, Preckwinkle and their allies have directly fueled the surge in gang shootings, armed robberies, carjackings, shoplifting and looting of stores, and other crimes.
O'Neill Burke notably pledged to end Foxx's policies on retail theft, and to return to abiding by the felony thresholds set by state law, prosecuting anyone charged with stealing at least $300 of merchandise.
O'Neill Burke also pledged to aggressively prosecute criminals charged with crimes involving guns, particularly criminals using weapons enhanced by so-called "bump stocks," which can give semi-automatic weapons greater firing speed capabilities, akin to fully automatic weapons, as well as those using handguns equipped with extended ammunition magazines.
During the campaign, she pledged: "Nobody who commits a violent offense is going back into the community to reoffend."
To accomplish her goals, O'Neill Burke said she would focus first on rebuilding staffing levels at the Cook County State's Attorney's Office. She noted that, under Foxx, staffing levels have hollowed out, leaving the office short staffed and struggling to meet its prosecutorial obligations.
O'Neill Burke did not get to directly challenge Foxx, however, as the current state's attorney announced in 2023 she would not seek a third term in office.
Following Foxx's announcement, the Cook County Democratic Party decided not to endorse O'Neill Burke, but instead pushed Harris, a longtime Democratic operative and lobbyist, forward as Foxx's slated replacement.
While pledging to chart his own course if elected, Harris also did not shy away from saying that he would continue many of Foxx's most controversial policies, instituted in the name of social justice and criminal justice reform.
Harris publicly praised Foxx during the campaign, saying he would welcome her endorsement and assigning a grade of "A" to her work as state's attorney.
Preckwinkle has publicly stated that she would be "expecting" Harris to continue Foxx's "good work" and policies.
With the Democratic nomination in hand, O'Neill Burke will advance to the November general election against Republican candidate attorney Robert Fioretti.
Fioretti has also pledged to bring a new, tougher-on-crime direction to the State's Attorney office.