The summer months are upon us. As temperatures rise, so too does the dark cloud of violence that consistently plagues our city.
It’s the same thing every year. The Chicago Police Department blames the violence on anything and anyone who can serve as a convenient scapegoat, flooding the media with false information to distract from CPD’s embarrassingly low clearance rate for murder and other violent crimes.
[ 75 shot: Examining Chicago police clearance rates for the most violent weekend of 2018 ]
Last year, it was a false narrative around carjackings and mandatory minimum sentences; this year it’s about Kim Foxx and bond court reform.
Whatever your opinion of Foxx, her career as a prosecutor should not be viewed only through the lens of her handling of one high-profile case involving the TV actor Jussie Smollett. We have never had a more transparent or innovative state’s attorney’s office; nor have prior state’s attorneys relied as heavily on data to inform prosecutorial decisions aimed at reducing the number of people who are unnecessarily dragged into the criminal justice system. Never before have we had a prosecutor prioritize resources for more serious cases, while diverting less serious cases — until Foxx.
Amid the outcry around her dismissal of felony charges against Smollett, let’s not forget that it’s because of Foxx that dozens of innocent men have been released from prison. Where is the outcry over the fact that these innocent men were prosecuted in the first place?
So let’s set the record straight: Foxx is not the villain. She has apologized for the way her office handled the Smollett case, which began in January when the actor reported he’d been the victim of a hate crime but evolved into felony charges against Smollett for allegedly staging the attack. She has publicly released thousands of pages of documents, and she requested that the Cook County inspector general investigate her office’s handling of the case.
And while we’re setting the record straight, bond court reform isn’t to blame for the violence either.
After this past weekend’s spate of shootings, Superintendent Eddie Johnson recognized that work must be done, but then he resorted to the failed solutions of the past as the answer. “Weekends like this remind us all of the challenges that we face and that they are complex and profound,” Johnson said, according to the Tribune. But that was followed by blaming judges for allowing those arrested for possessing a weapon to be released on bond: “We keep arresting them over and over and over and over and over again, and it’s just a vicious cycle.” He did not provide data to support his claim.
As was noted in a recent report released by Cook County Circuit Court Chief Judge Timothy Evans’ office, fewer than 150 of about 24,000 defendants released from custody, or 0.6%, were charged with a new violent offense.
Johnson’s words suggest that we should keep everyone who is charged locked up in jail, and that those arrested should be presumed guilty. This is not how the criminal justice system works, and it is not how the residents of our great city should live.
We have seen progress — reforming the criminal justice system hasn’t been easy, but it has been successful. Foxx’s leadership at the state’s attorney’s office and with bond court reform have been integral in that success.
Implementing solutions to improve public safety is complex and requires a multifaceted approach. Our criminal justice system is moving toward one that holds people accountable while not unnecessarily criminalizing or incarcerating people of color.
It’s time that the Chicago Police Department and members of the media get on board with these enhanced efforts.
Amy Campanelli is the Cook County public defender.