After officially being sworn in to replace Kim Foxx, Eileen O’Neill Burke announced the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office will demand pretrial detention for the highest classes of violent offenses. Under the SAFE-T Act, their focus will be on cases involving violence on public transit, offenses involving certain firearms, as well as domestic violence sex offenses and crimes against children. 

“Let me be clear: weapons of war, violence against the vulnerable, and rampant harm to our communities will not be tolerated,” Burke said. “The SAFE-T Act is a seminal piece of legislation that instills more fairness into our system while also requiring that prosecutors use every tool at their disposal to give victims a voice and keep Cook County safe. I am honored to serve as the new State’s Attorney and excited to get to work.”

Burke’s office will also restore retail theft thresholds to the state level of $300, not $1,000 set by Foxx. 

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson reacted Thursday. 

“I can say this, there have been policies in the past that have demonstrated that they are not effective,” Johnson said. “The good news, the part that’s encouraging, is there is a collective table of the county and the state and the city working together to improve public safety.” 

CBS Chicago reports retailers are praising the decision as a deterrent to organized retail theft.