Kim Foxx, Chicago's top prosecutor, announced on Tuesday that she will not seek reelection to a third term amid growing concerns about her record on crime.
Foxx, who made the announcement during an address at the City Club of Chicago, touted the many wrongful convictions her office has overturned, and she criticized the media regarding negative coverage and focus on high-profile cases.
"I'm leaving with my head held high, heart full," she said.
Foxx, a Democratic native of the Windy City, was elected to the office of Cook County state's attorney, Illinois' equivalent of a district attorney, in 2016, beating out fellow Democrat Anita Alvarez. Dubbed by many a reform-minded progressive, Foxx won reelection in 2020 but became dogged by criticism over her office's charging decisions.
The Chicago Police Department and outgoing Mayor Lori Lightfoot were critical of Foxx's charging record, with the latter issuing a stern rebuke of her decision not to press charges in an October 2021 gang shooting, according to NBC Chicago. The shooting, which left one dead and two injured, erupted between two rival gangs at a meeting of their leaders to try to work through their issues.
"They shoot up a residence in broad daylight, and there's no consequences," Lightfoot said at the time. "We have to understand how that is possible, when this kind of shootout is captured on film, that there are no charges of any person."
With Foxx set to depart her office soon, it opens up the 2024 election as a potential referendum on crime and the handling of it in Chicago. No candidates have yet declared for the state's attorney race, though NBC Chicago raised former Cook County Commissioner Richard Boykin and former state's attorney's first assistant Dan Kirk as "prime" candidates.
Boykin previously lost his county commissioner seat to Brandon Johnson, the progressive Democrat who won the 2023 mayoral race. The same dynamic about the handling of crime in Chicago defined that race as well, with Johnson ultimately beating out the more centrist Democrat Paul Vallas, who promised to take a harder line on the issue and was endorsed by the city's police union, in a runoff election.
Foxx's office also was in the national spotlight over its handling of cases involving high-profile celebrities Jussie Smollett and R. Kelly. In the former case, a report from Special Prosecutor Dan Webb argued that Foxx and her office made "operational mistakes" in its initial decision regarding the Empire actor, who was later found guilty of fabricating a hate crime against himself and reporting it to police in 2019. The initial decision also drew derision from then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel and numerous police entities, with Chicago's Fraternal Order of Police calling for her resignation.
In Kelly's case, Foxx was again derided for dropping sexual abuse charges against the disgraced singer, citing the potential cost of prosecution and the fact that Kelly was already serving multiple prison sentences totaling 31 years issued by federal courts in Chicago and Brooklyn. In the case that Foxx dropped, Kelly was accused of sexually abusing four people, three of whom were underage at the time.
Foxx is currently embroiled in criticism regarding the severity of charges against two teens, ages 14 and 17, who are accused of crashing a stolen Hyundai into a parked pickup last week, injuring a mother and her two daughters inside, and killing 6-month-old Cristian Uvidia. The teens have so far been charged with one misdemeanor count of criminal trespassing each, with Uvidia's family and activists calling for more.
In a statement provided to Newsweek, Mayor-elect Johnson hailed Foxx's strides and reforms in the light of her opting not to seek reelection.
"Kim Foxx made history as the first Black woman elected as Cook County state's attorney, and has been instrumental in working to reform the Conviction Bond Office, which has resulted in overturning nearly 200 wrongful convictions, expunging more than 15,000 cannabis crimes, and bringing equity to a criminal justice system that has long disenfranchised people and communities of color," the statement read. "She has led her office with dignity and civility, and as a colleague at the county level, I am grateful for the work that she has accomplished in her two terms. I wish her all the best in her future endeavors."
Newsweek reached out to representatives for Foxx via email for comment.
Updated, 04/25/2023, 5:55 p.m. ET: Added comment from Mayor-elect Johnson.
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Thomas Kika is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in upstate New York. His focus is reporting on crime and national ... Read more
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