The Chicago Justice Project has been in litigation and fighting for open access to the state’s attorney’s crimes database since 2010.

A DECADE!

Yet today, Kim Foxx stood in front of television news cameras, journalists and all of cook county to say this:

“we make our data – and i will give it to you as clearly and concisely as we can – open and available to the public to be able to examine so that you all can see the charges that are brought to us by cpd and the charges that are filed.”

Actions speak louder than words.

Until Kim Foxx’s actions match the words she says, the Chicago Justice project will continue to highlight the ineptness of the State’s Attorney’s Office in regards to transparency and fight for the citizens of Cook County for information owed to them.

We’ve not only been given the run around on multiple occasions but have found it downright impossible to get public information from the state’s attorney’s office.

Every reason, excuse and explanation has been given as to why this is happening, yet – as this goes to print – we are still awaiting records that are legally owed to the citizens of Cook County.  We’ve even entered a verbal, good faith settlement agreement back in 2017 in an effort to end our litigation.  We were hopeful. Kim Foxx told her supporters during her campaign that transparency was important to her and she would make the SAO more transparent if elected. Since our 2017 agreement, the SAO has breached the agreement and refused to supply cjp with any and all updated data. 

Furthermore, the meager amount of data the SAO makes available online is just another action that shows Kim Foxx and her office have no intentions of transparency. We’ve been told to accept the scraps of data the SAO releases online despite the SAO’s obligations under state law to provide complete prosecution data.

Kim Foxx claims transparency but at every turn, her office has done the opposite.  Foxx’s quote today of making data “open and available to the public” is not only misleading, it’s a slap in the face to CJP and our efforts over the past 3 years.

Chicago and Cook County residents deserve a prosecutor’s office that lives up to their obligations and moreover, respects state law regarding the release of public information.