Burke’s First Thirty Days

Things newly elected Prosecutor Eileen Burke must do.

Former Tribune columnist Eric Zorn and current WBEZ reporter Chip Mitchell are both snarling.

And that’s a good thing.

Last week, Eileen O’Neill Burke won the election for top prosecutor over Foxx’s acolyte, Clayton Harris.

In the wake of the loss for Harris, Mitchell and Zorn were raving at what they called the “conspiracy theorists” on social media who were claiming the election was rigged in favor of Harris, especially as the head of the Board of Electors, a “defund the police” zealot much like Foxx, suddenly uncovered 10,000 votes, the counting of which slowly ebbed Harris closer to Burke.

It is the way of Chicago progressives. Even in defeat, Zorn and Mitchell attack.

Burke winning would in no way undermine the chorus of detractors about the election. It may be that there was enough scrutiny of the election that corrupt practices could not be fulfilled enough to turn the election. The egregiously slow counting of ballots in an election in which only 20 percent of the eligible voters went to the polls, the finding of 10,000 ballots, the mumbo jumbo pouring out of election offficials and Foxx’s media lapdogs like Mitchell and Zorn only increased the distrust the public holds toward American elections, especially ones that allow mail-in ballots, a process that has been outlawed throughout the world because it lends itself so easily to corruption.

In their attacks on a public suspicious of election chicanery, Mitchell and Zorn are merely poor losers, desperately trying to find some arrow to shoot against a public that craves both legitimate elections and media.

But here’s a question, why are Mitchell and Zorn so feisty about an election between two Democrats? Isn’t it most important to them that a Democrat will get in and not a Republican?

No, it’s not. The Chicago media desperately needs a Kimberly Foxx acolyte as top prosecutor, for nothing threatens to expose the media in Chicago more than a legitimate prosecutor, regardless of what party they belong to. They needed Clayton Harris to win, for he would certainly maintain the perverse collusion between Foxx and the media that is a foundation of the anti-police movement in Chicago. The same Chicago media breathed a sigh of relief when Foxx beat predecessor Anita Alvarez in 2016. From that point on, the collusion of Foxx and the media has been unhindered and unhinged.

All of this brings us to addressing the long, hard road Eileen O’Neill Burke faces as top prosecutor. As much as all Democrats detest Donald Trump, apparently decent Democrats like Burke would do well to observe the vicious lawfare and political attacks that were immediately unleashed upon Trump after his election. If anyone doubts Burke is facing the same attacks, especially from the media, they truly know nothing about how Chicago works.

Thanks to Kimberly Foxx, the prosecutor’s office has been gutted of experienced, dedicated attorneys, many of them leaving after writing letters to the public about what a nightmare it was working under Foxx. Many of those remaining are creeping along like Chicago cops, only hoping to make it to their retirement age and get their pension, then get the hell out. Remaining in Foxx’s administration are new young attorneys, many of whom share Foxx’s perverse philosophy that a prosecutor’s job is not going after criminals, but rather utopian social engineering strategies achieved, if necessary, from mafia-like tactics.

In this cesspool, it would be foolish for Burke to assume that her job is to merely begin prosecuting criminals. Burke must rid the office of Foxx’s corruption as well. With this in mind, let’s take a look at what should happen in her first 30 days.

Burke must first hold a meeting of the prosecutors in her office. She needs to let them know what and how a prosecutor’s office should perform. Here’s a sample of what she should tell them:

“We are done being public defenders. If you want to be a public defender, then go drop an application. There is no place for you in this office. We are getting back to putting bad guys in prison where they belong. We will prosecute fairly and justly, but we will prosecute. Police officers need to be held to the highest standard, the same standard they hold themselves to, but they are not the enemy; they are our partners. You will not be rewarded for the number of cases you dismiss or convictions you vacate. You will be spotlighted for the number of fair and just convictions you get. We will not vacate decades-old convictions just because the media and the loudest voices say we should. All convictions that have been tried in court, reviewed by the appellate process, and rejected in the past will be presumed valid unless real, identifiable evidence is presented. Recanted witness statements ‘found’ by the defendant’s lawyers will always be looked at dubiously and will be vetted for accuracy, collusion, and any taint. The time has come to fulfill our mission: to make this county safer. If you are up for that challenge, I welcome you aboard.”

Burke should sit down in her first week and meet attorneys from the city who obtain the bulk of federal lawsuits alleging police misconduct. Many of these cases arose through shocking decisions from the Foxx administration. These city attorneys have a deep knowledge about how criminals are released from prison as part of a peculiarly Chicago-esque form of lawfare against legitimate cops. The knowledge these law firms hold is vast, a kind of primer that would immediately reveal to Burke that restoring justice in Chicago would mean attacking the police misconduct racket that exploded under Foxx.

Doing so would also expose the role of the press in this industry. The potential for a spotlight on their writing is perhaps one reason they are so salty about the election of Burke.

Under Burke, for example, Mitchell and Foxx should be exposed for their role in the dropping of charges against two Spanish Cobra gang members for the murder of police officer Clifton Lewis and the bizarre lawsuit that arose alleging misconduct against seasoned prosecutors Nancy Adduci and Andrew Varga.

The fact that Foxx had the gall to fire Adduci should immediately be rectified by Burke offering Adduci her job back. It would send a clear message to prosecutors and police that Burke is indeed restoring integrity to the criminal justice system.

From these city attorneys, Burke should be apprised of the fact that once-convicted rapist and murderer Nevest Coleman had his conviction tossed after a series of articles by Tribune report Greg Pratt and a column by Eric Zorn. In a deposition of Foxx’s top prosecutors, these prosecutors said they believed Coleman was guilty and that the investigating detectives did nothing wrong. One of the top prosecutors under Foxx specifically assailed the article by Zorn that preceded Coleman’s release.

Burke should immediately release documents per a FOIA related to the exoneration of offenders tied to retired detective Reynaldo Guevara and settle a monumental question of justice in Chicago. Was Foxx’s predecessor Anita Alvarez correct in maintaining the Guevara murder convictions, or was Kim Foxx when she let so many of them walk out of prison?

If Alvarez was right, Burke has an obligation to investigate Foxx’s actions and to hold her accountable. A first step in doing so would be for Burke to finally obey the Freedom of Information laws and release requested records on these cases that Foxx has suspiciously refused to release. Taking these steps would also certainly provide an illuminating light on the Chicago media.

Burke should reject Foxx’s policy of raising the bar for felony shoplifting charges and return the prosecutor’s policy to the letter of the law, ending the open-door policy for shoplifters that is decimating Chicago’s retail outlets and creating a vast black market of stolen goods.

Burke should immediately reject the policy of Foxx that created a list of Chicago police officers who cannot testify in criminal cases because Foxx arbitrarily determined their testimony was untrustworthy.

Burke should return felony review to an agency of assisting police officers in generating legitimate felony charges instead of the unit created by Foxx that does whatever it can to harass detectives and cops to avoid felony approval.

One of the most important decisions Burke can make is to appoint a new head of media relations for her office. This media relations specialist will have to be aggressive and tough in dealing with the Chicago media. This specialist must be willing to hold reporters accountable for their lies and put the media on the defensive. Such an act would put the resolution of criminal cases back in the courtroom rather than the court of public opinion controlled by a cowardly, activist media.

These are crucial steps Burke must take to restore law and order in Chicago.