Dupage Policy Journal

State Senator John Curran congratulated Eileen O'Neill Burke on her election as Cook County State's Attorney in a December 3 Facebook post. He said, "I am encouraged to see States Attorney O'Neill Burke's shift towards placing a greater emphasis on public safety."

"As a 19-year veteran of the Cook County State's Attorney's Office I would like to congratulate our new Cook County State's Attorney Eileen O'Neill Burke, and wish her, and all the Assistant States Attorneys under her direction, success in their important role in our society," said John F. Curran, according to Facebook. "I am encouraged to see States Attorney O'Neill Burke's shift towards placing a greater emphasis on public safety shown by some of the reforms she announced yesterday. My hope is that the entire Cook County Criminal Justice System follows suit to help all county residents feel safer in their communities."

According to Curran's Facebook post, he shared a link to a Chicago Tribune article. The story highlighted that Illinois Supreme Court Justice Joy Cunningham swore in O’Neill Burke, with an audience that included former Mayor Richard M. Daley, aldermen, prosecutors, and former State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez.

Screenshot of State Senator John Curran's Dec. 3 Facebook post | State Senator John Curran's Facebook page

"We have world-class universities, we have an infrastructure. We even have a fresh water supply. We are primed to boom. But we are being overshadowed by crime right now," said O’Neill Burke at her swearing-in ceremony on December 2. She emphasized that safety and a fair criminal justice system are not mutually exclusive and assured the people of Cook County that they can achieve both.

O’Neill Burke also announced a new policy to automatically seek pretrial detention for every detainable offense under specific conditions: defendants charged with certain felonies involving weapons, domestic violence or sex offenses involving weapons, felonies committed on public transportation, murder or class X felonies, cases involving child pornography, and certain sex offenses.

O’Neill Burke, a Democrat, defeated Republican challenger Bob Fioretti with 66.2% of the vote compared to Fioretti's 29.3%. Libertarian challenger Andrew Charles Kopinski received 4.5% of the total votes in the November general election. According to Ballotpedia, O’Neill Burke garnered 1,173,362 votes; Fioretti received 520,251 votes; and Kopinski received 79,221 votes.

In the March primary election, O’Neill Burke narrowly defeated Clayton Harris III with 50.1% of the vote (264,428 votes) compared to Harris' 49.9% (262,857 votes).

Curran has represented residents of Illinois' 41st District since 2017. His official biography notes that he previously served three terms on the DuPage County Board and held the position of Vice Chairman of the Board. Additionally, he worked in the Cook County Attorney’s Office for 19 years during the 1990s.