A New Era in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office: How Prosecutorial Policies Are Shifting Under Eileen Burke

For years, Kim Foxx served as the Cook County State’s Attorney, shaping the prosecutorial landscape with a focus on reform. Under her tenure, there was a strong push for alternatives to incarceration, particularly for non-violent offenses. The office emphasized diversion programs, drug treatment, and restorative justice, often favoring rehabilitation over strict punitive measures. While some praised this approach as progressive and necessary, others-both within the legal community and the general public-perceived it as being too lenient, particularly in cases like retail theft and drug-related offenses.

That approach began to shift in December 2024, when Eileen Burke was sworn in as the new Cook County State’s Attorney. Burke ran on a platform promising to be tougher on crime, a message that resonated with many Chicagoans frustrated with rising crime rates and what they saw as an overly permissive justice system. While any transition in leadership takes time to materialize in day-to-day court proceedings, those of us who practice regularly in Cook County’s criminal courts can now see the tangible effects of her policies.

For the first month and a half after Burke took office, it was difficult to gauge any real change. The court system continued functioning as usual, and many of the same assistant state’s attorneys (ASAs) remained in place, handling their caseloads as they had under Foxx. However, over the past 30 days, the shift has become undeniable. Conversations with colleagues confirm that there has been a noticeable tightening of prosecutorial discretion-not just in serious felony cases, where policies were already relatively strict, but in lower-level offenses as well.

One of the most apparent changes is in the handling of retail theft cases. Under Foxx, these cases often resulted in diversion programs, deferred prosecutions, or other lenient resolutions, particularly for first-time offenders. Now, prosecutors are far less inclined to agree to pretrial diversions, and many cases that might have previously been dismissed or resolved with minimal consequences are being pursued more aggressively. Similarly, domestic violence cases-always a sensitive area of prosecution-are now being handled with an even heavier hand, with fewer opportunities for negotiated resolutions.

Another surprising shift has come in the area of expungements. Previously, for many lower-level offenses and cases eligible for sealing, the State’s Attorney’s Office would routinely decline to object, allowing the process to proceed smoothly. Now, prosecutors are objecting to significantly more expungements, making it harder for individuals with past offenses to clear their records and move on with their lives.

For criminal defense attorneys-and more importantly, for those charged with crimes in Cook County-these changes mean that navigating the system has become more difficult. Prosecutors are less flexible, fewer cases are being diverted out of the traditional court process, and the stakes are higher for those facing criminal charges. As a result, it is more critical than ever for anyone arrested