The Cook County State's Attorney is the

chief prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in Civil law (legal system), civil law. The prosecution is the ...

for

Cook County, Illinois Cook County is the List of counties in Illinois, most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the List of the most populous counties in the United States, second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, C ...

. The State's Attorney oversees the second-largest prosecutor's office in the United States, with over 600 attorneys and 1,200 employees. The office's responsibilities include directing criminal prosecution, filing legal actions to enforce child support orders, consumer protection, and assistance for victims of domestic violence. The State's Attorney is elected for a term of four years. The current incumbent is Eileen O'Neill Burke, who was first elected in

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

Subdivisions of the state's attorney's office

The Criminal Prosecutions Bureau is the largest bureau in the office. The bureau is divided into three divisions: Felony Trial, Sexual Crimes, and Municipal. Each division is further divided into specialized units located throughout the county. The bureau is also charged with prosecuting thousands of domestic violence cases each year as well as cases of child sexual abuse through the Child Advocacy Division. The Juvenile Justice Bureau contains two divisions: Delinquency and Child Protection. The Delinquency Division handles cases involving juveniles who have been charged with committing misdemeanors or felonies. The Child Protection Division files civil actions against parents and guardians who abuse or neglect their children. The Narcotics Bureau consists of the following units: Preliminary Hearings/Grand Jury, Felony Trial, Narcotics Courtrooms, Drug Treatment Programs, Complex Narcotics Prosecution, and Asset Forfeitures. The Special Prosecutions Bureau is responsible for investigating and prosecuting complex criminal and public corruption cases. It includes units for Auto Theft, Gang Crimes, Government and Financial Crimes, Organized Crime/Cold Case, and Professional Standards. It also initiates civil and criminal lawsuits to protect individuals and the general public interest. Consumer Fraud and Seniors and Persons with Disabilities are also units in the bureau. The Civil Actions Bureau defends the county and its officeholders and employees in civil suits, provides a full range of legal services for all county agencies, and represents the county's interests in actions brought to collect monies owed for taxes and fees. The bureau has sections dedicated to Child Support Services, Complex Litigation, Labor and Employment, Civil Rights/Torts, Workers' Compensation, Municipal Litigation (including Transactions/Health Law), and Real Estate Tax Litigation. The Investigations and Administrative Services Bureaus supply investigative, technical and administrative assistance to the office. The Administrative Services Bureau supports all the other bureaus with administrative personnel and contains the office's national award-winning Victim Witness Assistance Program that provides services to crime victims.

Appearance in fiction

A fictionalized version of the office is a major backdrop in '' Presumed Innocent'', TV series ''

The Good Wife ''The Good Wife'' is an American legal political drama television series that aired on CBS from September 22, 2009, to May 8, 2016. It focuses on Alicia Florrick, the wife of the Cook County State's Attorney, who returns to her career in law ...

'', and the ''Chicago'' franchise.

List of Cook County State's Attorneys

Election results

, - , colspan=16 style="text-align:center;" , Cook County State's Attorney general elections , - !Year !Winning candidate !Party !Vote (pct) !Opponent !Party ! Vote (pct) !Opponent !Party ! Vote (pct) !Opponent !Party ! Vote (pct) !Opponent !Party ! Vote (pct) !Opponent !Party ! Vote (pct) , - , 1900 , , Charles S. Deneen , , Republican , , 205,709 (51.94%) , , Julius Goldzier , , Democratic , , 178,696 (45.12%) , , Thomas J. Morgan , ,

Social Democratic Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...

, , 6,227 (1.57%) , , Walter Hawk , ,

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

, , 5,236 (1.32%) , C. H. Becker , People's , 153 (0.04%) , , , , - , 1904 , , John J. Healey , , Republican , , 206,487 (53.13%) , , George A. Trude , , Democratic , , 132,811 (34.17%) , ,

Seymour Stedman Seymour "Stedy" Stedman (July 4, 1871 – July 9, 1948) was an American from Chicago who rose from shepherd and janitor to become a prominent civil liberties lawyer and a leader of the Socialist Party of America. He is best remembered as the 192 ...

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Socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

, , 39,736 (10.22%) , , M. C. Harper , ,

, , 5,630 (1.45%) , , Henry Sale , ,

Socialist Labor The Socialist Labor Party (SLP)"The name of this organization shall be Socialist Labor Party". Art. I, Sec. 1 of thadopted at the Eleventh National Convention (New York, July 1904; amended at the National Conventions 1908, 1912, 1916, 1920, 192 ...

, , 2,547 (0.66%) , L. A. Shaw , People's , 1,468 (0.38%) , - , 1908 , , John E. W. Wayman , , Republican , , 197,805 (48.57%) , , Jacob J. Kern , , Democratic , , 146,133 (35.89%) , , William Street , ,

, , 45,528 (11.18%) , , Seymour Stedman , ,

, , 17,471 (4.29%) , , Charles H. Mitchell , ,

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

, , 9,279 (2.28%) , , , , - , 1912 , , Maclay Hoyne , , Democratic , , 122,419 (27.85%) , , Lewis Rinaker , , Republican , , 113,181 (25.74%) , , William A. Cunnea , ,

, , 107,647 (24.49%) , , George I. Haight , , Progressive , , 93,495 (21.27%) , , John H. Hill , ,

, , 2,895 (0.66%) , , , , - , 1916 , , Maclay Hoyne , , Democratic , , 236,384 (44.57%) , , Harry B. Miller , , Republican , , 191,456 (36.10%) , , William A. Cunnea , ,

, , 102,579 (19.34%) , , , , , , , , , , - , 1920 , , Robert E. Crowe , , Republican , , 525,115 (58.44%) , , Michael L. Igoe , , Democratic , , 319,236 (35.53%) , , William A. Cunnea , ,

, , 50,766 (5.65%) , , John C. Teevan , , Farmer–Labor , , 3,463 (0.39%) , , , , , , - , 1924
...
1968 , colspan=18 , , - , 1972 , , Bernard Carey , , Republican , , , , Edward Hanrahan , , Democratic , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , - , 1976 , , Bernard Carey , , Republican , , , , Edward J. Egan , , Democratic , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , - ,

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

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Richard M. Daley Richard Michael Daley (born April 24, 1942) is an American politician who served as the 54th mayor of Chicago, Illinois, from 1989 to 2011. Daley was elected mayor in 1989 and was reelected five times until declining to run for a seventh ter ...

, , Democratic , , 1,058,529 (50.39%) , , Bernard Carey , , Republican , , 1,042,287 (49.61%) , , , , , , , , , , , , , - ,

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

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, , Democratic , , 1,418,775 (65.98%) , , Richard J. Brzeczek , , Republican , , 731,634 (34.02%) , , , , , , , , , , , , , - ,

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

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, , Democratic , , 1,303,906 (66.70%) , , Terrance W. Gainer , , Republican , , 650,942 (33.30%) , , , , , , , , , , , , , - ,

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

, , Jack O'Malley , , Republican , , 692,192 (52.96%) , , Cecil A. Partee , , Democratic , , 511,424 (39.13%) , Text style="background:#D2B48C , Janice H. Robinson , Text style="background:#D2B48C , Harold Washington Party , Text style="background:#D2B48C , 103,353 (7.91%) , , , , , , , , , , - ,

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

, , Jack O'Malley , , Republican , , 1,272,939 (61.27%) , , Patrick J. O'Connor , , Democratic , , 804,528 (38.73%) , , , , , , , , , , , , , - ,

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

, , Richard A. Devine , , Democratic , , 805,659 (47.88%) , , Jack O'Malley , , Republican , , 694,306 (41.26%) , R. Eugene Pincham , Justice Party , 156,695 (9.31%) , Text style="background:#D2B48C , Lawrence C. Redman Jr. , Text style="background:#D2B48C , Harold Washington Party , Text style="background:#D2B48C , 26,131 (1.55%) , , , , , , , - ,

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, , Richard A. Devine , , Democratic , , 1,337,578 (78.30%) , , David P. Gaughan , , Republican , , 370,678 (21.70%) , , , , , , , , , , , , - ,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, , Richard A. Devine , , Democratic , , 1,483,280 (79.43%) , , Philip Spiwak , , Republican , , 384,082 (20.57%) , , , , , , , , , , , , , - ,

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, ,

Anita Alvarez Anita M. Alvarez (born January 16, 1960) is the former State's Attorney for Cook County, Illinois, United States. Alvarez was the first Hispanic woman elected to this position, after being the first Latina to win the Democratic nomination for ...

, , Democratic , , 1,378,452 (69.90%) , ,

Tony Peraica Anthony J. "Tony" Peraica (born April 14, 1957) is an American politician from Chicago, Illinois. He was the Cook County Commissioner for the 16th district, and was the unsuccessful Republican nominee for Cook County treasurer in 1998, for pr ...

, , Republican , , 494,611 (25.08%) , , Thomas O'Brien , ,

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...

, , 99,101 (5.03%) , , , , , , , , , , - ,

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

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, , Democratic , , 1,427,145 (77.05%) , , Lori S. Yokoyama , , Republican , , 421,810 (22.77%) , , , , , , , , , , , , , - ,

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, , Kim Foxx , , Democratic , , 1,459,087 (72.06%) , , Christopher E.K. Pfannkuche , , Republican , , 565,671 (27.94%) , , , , , , , , , , , , , - ,

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, , Kim Foxx , , Democratic , , 1,194,299 (54.21%) , , Pat O'Brien , , Republican , , 861,108 (39.08%) , , Brian Dennehy , ,

Libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

, , 147,769 (6.71%) , , , , , , , , , , - ,

References

External links