By John Ruberry
We are told, correctly, that it’s the local elections, not the glamorous races such as presidential contests, that effect voters the most.
That was so true in 2016 in Cook County, Illinois.
While Hillary Clinton comfortably won Illinois and Cook County–where I live– over Donald Trump, it was the state’s attorney race in Cook that had the biggest impact on the 5 million residents in Illinois’ largest county.
George Soros-funded Democratic candidate, Kim Foxx, resoundingly defeated her Republican opponent, Christopher E.K. Pfannkuche. Four years later it was much closer for Foxx, she gathered only 54 percent of the vote in heavily Democratic Cook County, over Republican Pat O’Brien and a Libertarian candidate.
Fortunately, unless you are a criminal, Foxx chose not to run for reelection this year.
Immediately after her swearing-in, Foxx raised the limit for felony theft from the state-mandated $300 to $1,000.00. Shoplifting prosecutions in Cook County dropped dramatically, as did narcotics prosecutions.
Murders soared in the last eight years.
While Foxx is best known for the Jussie Smollett debacle, other actions as state’s attorney will have a lasting, and acidic legacy.
If you want numbers, you’ll find some here, courtesy of the fantastic Illinois Policy Institute. But except for murders, they tell an incomplete story.
For instance, for much of Foxx’s misrule, my daughter, Little Marathon Pundit. worked at a nationally known department store in an affluent suburb. On average, once a day, a shoplifter ran out the door–some calmy walked out–with stolen merchandise. Not only were employees at this store told not to prevent the criminal from leaving, store managers never called the police. Not once. Why call the cops? Even if the perp is caught, Foxx’ office, unless the theft was a massive haul, wouldn’t prosecute it as a felony. Or he may not even bother prosecuting at all.
So those were unrecorded crimes. So crime numbers, outside of course of murders, can’t be trusted at all.
As I wrote on X last month, “the liberal media keeps telling us that crime is down. Six months ago when I last visited this Rosemont IL big box store the cosmetics section wasn’t roped off. Stop gaslighting us, ‘journalists.'”
Eileen O’Neill Burke, a Democrat, is the new state’s attorney in Cook County. She is already prosecuting accused thieves at the state-mandated $300 level for felony theft.
EOB is not perfect. She supports Governor JB Prtizker’s no-cash-bail SAFE-T Act.
But O’Neill Burke vows to call for more detainments of accused criminals who are charged with violent crimes.
Elections matter.
Including down-ballot races. Sometimes especially down-ballot races.
Sadly, the results of the last eight years of rampant criminality will wreak havoc for a very long time.
John Ruberry regularly blogs at Marathon Pundit.
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