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Cook County Prosecutor Kim Foxx is not seeking Re-election to a Third Term, according to a press release from her office on Tuesday.
“I leave now with my head held high, with my heart full, knowing that better days are ahead,” Foxx said. “And it has been my honor and my privilege on behalf of project kids across this city."
Prosecutor Foxx led a tumultuous two-term in office where she oversaw a department where high profile cases such as the Jesse Smollett case caused major public outcry over he decision to not file charges against the actor.
She led the Cook County Prosecutor's office for 8 years, drawing much criticism from the public at large as well as had disagreements with Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago Police who sometimes felt she was not hard enough on criminals.
Ms. Foxx, who was raised in Chicago public housing, first ran for the office in 2016, in a race dominated by questions about then-State's Attorney Anita Alvarez's handling of a Chicago police officer's killing of Black teenager Laquan McDonald in 2014. A shooting that also became a flashpoint for then Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who was accused of hiding the video until after he secured his re-election.
Ms. Foxx became the first Black woman to hold the job of Cook County Prosecutor, joining a wave of big-city prosecutors elected on promises to overhaul the criminal justice system, including more accountability for police and a willingness to forgo prosecutions of minor offenses.
She prioritized vacating convictions of people framed or falsely accused of drug crimes by corrupt police officers and expunging low-level marijuana convictions, once possession of cannabis became legal in Illinois.
Some of her supporters have also made the claim that it is because of her gender & race that she was made to be the scapegoat in a number of high profile cases.
“These are not just policy differentials,” Foxx said. “These are people. These are not talking points for the left and the right.”
