Democrat Eileen O’Neill Burke is projected to win her campaign for Cook County State’s Attorney over Republican Robert Fioretti and Libertarian Andrew Kopinski.
O’Neill Burke received 65.7% of the vote as of 10:27 p.m., with 77.3% of the vote counted, according to data from the Associated Press. Fioretti had 29.9% and Kopinski had 4.4%.
O’Neill Burke will succeed Kim Foxx, who assumed the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office in December 2016. Foxx announced she wouldn’t seek a third term in April 2023.
“We commit to a smooth transition for our residents and toward achieving Justice Burke’s vision of expanded restorative justice that serves all communities,” the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office said in a statement released on X.
O’Neill Burke narrowly defeated Clayton Harris III in March’s Democratic primary, winning by less than 1,600 votes.
A former prosecutor, defense attorney and judge, O’Neill Burke was most recently an Illinois Appellate Court judge from 2016 to 2023. She had previously served as an assistant state’s attorney for 10 years.
“There were a million reasons not to get in this race,” O’Neill Burke said to supporters in her victory speech Tuesday night. “But, I had this stubborn belief I could not shake. I believed we could make Cook County safer and have a justice system that works for everyone.”
O’Neill Burke’s campaign focused on getting guns off the street, addressing the root causes of crime and rebuilding the state’s attorney’s office with a new education and training curriculum. She was endorsed by the Chicago Tribune, the Daily Herald and the Sierra Club of Illinois — as well as a number of elected officials, labor organizations and lawyer committee co-chairs.
Fioretti, who won the Republican nomination, is a civil rights attorney and former Democratic Chicago alderperson. After unsuccessfully running for mayor and Cook County Board president, Fioretti ran on the Republican ticket, citing a progressive shift in Democratic politics. His platform has centered around working with law enforcement and cracking down on illegal immigration.
Kopinski, the Libertarian candidate, is a self-employed lawyer, accountant and real estate agent. He ran on reducing violent crime and property crime in Cook County.
O’Neill Burke survived a bruising primary earlier this year against Clayton Harris III, a more left-leaning candidate favored by county Democratic leader Toni Preckwinkle. Endorsed by the Chicago Tribune in that race, O’Neill Burke pledged to take a stronger stance against violent and property crime.
The general race proved quieter. But the centrist O’Neill Burke found an unusual rival in former Democrat Fioretti, who received the backing of progressive Rev. Jesse Jackson.
Preckwinkle, who also serves as the president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, stayed out of the limelight after the loss of her favored candidate. She had previously called O’Neill Burke a “de facto Republican,” according to a recent Tribune report.
O’Neill Burke will assume an office that has made several left-leaning reforms. She said she would reinstate harsher consequences for cases involving shoplifting, violence on public transit and others.
Shun Graves contributed reporting.
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