A state attorney general's primary duty is to serve as counsel to the state and its agencies and to act as the "people's lawyer" on behalf of its citizens. Rod Blagojevich was convicted by a jury 12 years ago. He also faced criticism over not acknowledging the effects of prolonged school closures, which the board said is likely tied to the support he receives from the Chicago Teachers Union. WBEZ news coverage of the mayor's race and more from the 2023 municipal elections. Officers located the car later that evening and tried to make a stop, the report said, but the driver fled. Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com. Yet we endorse one of her challengers, Kim Foxx, in the Democratic primary for state's attorney. Also noteworthy is former State Representative John Cabello's . McDonald, a 17-year-old Chicagoan, was shot and killed by Chicago Police officer Jason Van Dyke in October of 2014. Late Thursday, authorities charged Steven Montano, 18, of 2500 block of South Lawndale, with first-degree murder, weapons charges and interfering with a domestic violence report. COOK COUNTY STATE'S ATTORNEY DEMOCRAT FOXX, KIM (I) REPUBLICANS O'BRIEN, PATRICK 'PAT' LIBERTARIAN DENNEHY, BRIAN DUPAGE COUNTY STATE'S ATTORNEY REPUBLICAN BERLIN, ROBERT "BOB" (I) KANE. Today, the Cook County Democratic Party presented its recommendations for statewide, countywide and judicial races in the 2022 primary. Alden Global Capital, the hedge fund that owns the Tribune, announced that its nearly 200 papers will no longer endorse major political candidates. But if Foxx is elected, her chief challenge will be persuading crime-ravaged communities to cooperate with law enforcement and curtail the slaughter of so many youths. So financial acumen is a must, and both candidates bring strong money oversight credentials to the race. Unlike Mayor Rahm Emanuel, she hasn't come to understand that it's not in the public interest to endlessly withhold information about deadly force incidents. "Kim Foxx is a strong voice for reform and justice for all, Governor Quinn said in a statement provided by Foxx's campaign. Matt Foley of St. Gall Catholic Church leads a procession back to their church after walking in the 5200 block of South Spaulding Avenue in Chicago to sanctify the ground where Chicago police Officer Andres Vasquez-Lasso was shot and killed. Our concern was that (Boik) seemed committed to moving the process along, Raoul told us. But not his teammates. Retired from the US Department of Labor as Appellate Administrative Judge. Thursdays statement from Foxxs office said prosecutors offered community service as an alternative to traditional prosecution due to the facts of the case. He knows the system. Some well-known lawyers in the region are going to bat for Candace Jackson-Akiwumi, President Joe Bidens nominee for the 7th U.S. Paul Vallas, 69, the former head of Chicago Public Schools, secured 34% of the vote, followed by Brandon Johnson, 46, who serves . Elections are opportunities to evaluate the needs of the times and of the citizens who write their public servants' paychecks, the editorial board wrote. The clear and present dangers of intrusion from county pols run from patronage to policy to principle. TAKE THIS WITH YOU to the voting booth. The FOP announced the decision in a post on the . But the top job of state's attorney involves many other skills: judgment about law enforcement priorities and conduct; frank and comfortable communication with the public; administration of a big and vital office that, like all of county government, will have to get smaller as pension costs crush budgets.. Democratic candidate for Cook County state's attorney Kim Foxx and Republican candidate Christopher Pfannkuche give their closing statements to the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board on Sept. 13, 2016. He can shoot it., Justin Steele and 6 Chicago Cubs relievers combine for the 1st spring training no-hitter in franchise history, Leah Palmer experiences grand time as Geneva grinds out victory in Class 4A third-place game. A defensive stalwart, Oswego Easts Tyler Jasek surprises Joliet West. In addition to the public corruption probes, Lausch has earned a reputation for going after Chicagos street gangs, which hed done previously as an assistant U.S. attorney under Fitzgerald. She sounds to us as if, presented with the same facts, she might make the same judgments again. For now, reports Crain's Greg Hinz Endorsement: . Foxx got where she is with strong help from Preckwinkle and the county Democratic organization. Mary Kay O'Brien EI's State Legislative and County-Level Endorsement Press Release Illinois Senate (District Number - Name) 1 - Javier Loera Cervantes 2 - Omar Aquino 4 - Kimberly Lightford 6 - Sara Feigenholtz 7 - Mike Simmons 8 - Ram Villivalam 9 - Laura Fine 10 - Robert Martwick 12 - Celina Villanueva 13 - Robert Peters 16 - Willie Preston We like the commitment to consent decree implementation that Raouls office has shown. Over the last two years, drivers heading north on Elston Avenue in Chicago, to cite one example, could see a snaking line of freezing Chicagoans, just trying to make it inside to get their plates renewed. She isnt responsible for the corruption in the Gun Trace Task Force or the death of homicide Det. Endorsement: For state Senate, support incumbents Polsky and Berman. Vasquez-Lasso, 32, lived in the Marquette Park neighborhood, according to the Cook County medical examiners office. In that context, its entirely believable that the increase in dropped felony cases during her term is to a great extent the product of forces outside her control. The November election comes four months after the June 28 primary the quickest turnaround since at least the Great Depression. The suspicion that Alvarez could and should have moved faster may help explain why 71 percent of Cook County respondents in a Tribune poll said they weren't satisfied with her handling of this case. She worked well with a politically diverse County Board, and we think she can be a bridge to the bloodied communities that are most alienated from the criminal justice system. Here are the Chicago Tribune Editorial Boards 2022 endorsements for the Nov. 8 elections. October 12, 2022. . 2 who could emphasize the hurt in poor neighborhoods. Results are available at www.isba.org/YouBeTheJudge. Beyond a polite hello in the elevator, prosecutors should be fiercely independent of politicians, especially those who sign off on their budget. Read part three of the Tribunes endorsements for Illinois Senate here. Foxx talks eagerly and easily about police misconduct cases and whether too many people are in prison. I was exhausted., Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. ], [[Dont miss] See how candidates for governor answered our questions plus who the Tribune Editorial Board endorsed], [[Dont miss] Editorial: 175 years of editorials and counting]. Here are the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board 's 2022 endorsements for the Nov. 8 elections. But not his teammates. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune) Officers including Vasquez-Lasso encountered someone who was chasing a woman down the street with a gun, Chicago police Superintendent David Brown said late Wednesday. And if that piece of Duckworths remarkable biography was not daunting enough, she was the first woman with a disability to be elected to Congress, and then became the first U.S. senator to give birth while in office, following the birth of her second daughter, Maile, in 2018. The driver of the vehicle has been charged with felony counts of illegal gun possession, and the case is still pending., Vallas told reporters on Thursday that Foxxs office is not getting serious with the gun crimes.. DeVore has chosen to not take part in the Tribunes endorsement process, but that doesnt really matter. Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul speaks at a campaign event on Aug. 25, 2022, at a Jackson County Democrats dinner in Murphysboro. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune). I personally went over last night to the 8th District, he told the Tribune. Brown was moving members of Boiks staff to patrol duty, and Boik told Brown the move would set back officer training mandated by the consent decree. Willie Wilson was criticized by the board for some of his controversial statements on the campaign trail, though he was praised for his philanthropy and personal success. Mr. Tong's experience as an attorney and state legislator and chairman of the state House Judiciary Committee clearly. Find a downloadable, printable list of Chicago Tribune election endorsements and candidates responses to our questionnaires here. But we do not see an Illinois threat to those rights and we see this endorsement as an opening to skew the balance of power in the public sector to an unacceptable degree. In this first slate of endorsements, most of the contested seats are longtime Democratic strongholds in Chicago, as gerrymandered to serve incumbents, and few are likely to be close races. Chicago City Clerk Anna Valencia now has the endorsements of both U.S. senators from Illinois. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune). Read the full editorial here. Fundamentally, the reason we believe voters should not give her a second term is that she seems unable or unwilling to entertain the notion that she should do anything differently in the face of Baltimores record violence. Jun 16 2022. chicago tribune state's attorney endorsement She didn't whitewash this case; when her office learned details of McDonald's death, she recruited U.S. Attorney Zachary Fardon to investigate. Lausch, 52, who hails from Joliet and currently lives in Chicagos Beverly neighborhood, captained the 1987 state champion Joliet Catholic football team and was a linebacker and team captain at Harvard University. The White House announced in February 2021 that Lausch could remain in office until a successor was nominated and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, though no official search for a replacement ever materialized. Chicago Tribune; The Baltimore Sun; The Morning Call of Pa. Daily Press of Va. . A Foxx spokesperson released a statement that said Montano did not have a criminal record, nor did prosecutors have evidence to support a gun charge. This week, Chicago Tribune reported its endorsements in the March 20 Illinois primary election. Today we acknowledge Alvarez's 29-year career in this office. This primary election is critical for the direction of pro-family issues in Illinois, and the attorney general is a key office to protecting families' freedoms of choice in education, religion, and life. This is yet another example of why we need to make sure that we are dealing with the immediate challenge of violence in the city of Chicago, which my plan speaks to that, while also getting at the root causes. He can shoot it., Justin Steele and 6 Chicago Cubs relievers combine for the 1st spring training no-hitter in franchise history, Leah Palmer experiences grand time as Geneva grinds out victory in Class 4A third-place game. In this months Democratic primary, we endorse attorney Ivan Bates. Our editorials seek to help readers make sound decisions. The incumbent, Marilyn Mosby, has made a strong defense of her record, and we believe that it has merit in some important. These are Democratic primary elections, except for a Republican race in the 13th subcircuit. We agree that her announcement of charges against the six officers involved in Freddie Grays death staved off violence. To our eyes . Of all the Republicans on the Illinois ballot in the 2022 election cycle, Kathy Salvi, an attorney from Mundelein, surely has the hardest job. That includes the office of Illinois attorney general. But not his teammates. Judge O'Malley began her legal career as an assistant state's attorney in Baltimore County, spending a decade in the criminal courts, prosecuting cases involving drug conspiracy, murders,. June 30, 2022 . Any incumbent's re-election ought never be an entitlement. On Monday, Sally Daly, a. Foxx served as Preckwinkles chief-of-staff. Here are the Chicago Tribune endorsements in the Illinois primary Tuesday. She was also endorsed by the Illinois AFL-CIO and Planned Parenthood. But not his teammates. For the list of sitting judges asking to be retained, nearly every one of them is recommended for retention by the three major judicial rating groups. Raoul shares our concerns. First, she has been endorsed by her former boss, Preckwinkle, and the county Democratic organization. In the endorsement, the Tribune board called Vallas "a smart, passionate and experienced candidate for mayor who long has specialized in doing precisely that.". Police eventually curbed the car, and the suspect and two others ran away, the report alleged. Kim Foxx, left, and Patrick O'Brien, right, are candidates for Cook county State's Attorney in the 2020 election. Those who view her actions then from the safe remove of three years and through the hindsight of the charges result are forgetting the real and justified fear that the city would erupt again into rioting if the foolish self-imposed deadline then-police commissioner Anthony Batts had set for completing the investigation into Grays death passed with no move toward accountability for the officers. Today we endorse Kim Foxx for the same good reasons, and with the same two concerns, as we did before the primary. Ms. Mosby came into office complaining her predecessor was too soft on crime, yet she hasnt proven herself any better at securing convictions. On Nov. 8, Illinois voters will elect their governor, junior U.S. senator, two Illinois Supreme Court justices, all 17 of Illinois representatives in the U.S. Congress, every state senator and state representative in the General Assembly, and county and judicial offices throughout the state. And this is a way from a federal law enforcement standpoint that we can make an impact.. That office is the General Assemblys watchdog, but lawmakers had weakened the IGs powers to a point where one-time Inspector General Carol Pope called her office a paper tiger.. Amid that turmoil, Lausch was also leading his office through the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020, which virtually shut down the courthouse for a significant period, led to difficulties assembling grand juries to hear cases and has left a backlog of criminal defendants awaiting trial. While the board praised Lightfoot's leadership in the COVID-19 pandemic and work in initiatives to improve equity in struggling neighborhoods, she faced criticism for being reluctant to any changes in city leadership, most notably toward embattled CPD Superintendent David Brown. The Tribune lauded her prosecutorial experience but cited concerns over her leadership. She has the integrity and ability to serve the people of Cook County well as their states attorney.. Preceding him are four former Senate Democratic colleagues, Thomas Cullerton, Terry Link, Annazette Collins and Martin Sandoval (who died in 2020); a former GOP state senator, Sam McCann; former House Speaker and Democratic kingmaker Michael Madigan; and onetime Democratic state Reps. Luis Arroyo and Eddie Acevedo.
