Chicago City Wire

Dan Kirk, former chief of staff and first assistant State’s Attorney of Cook County, is hinting toward a potential run for Cook County State’s Attorney after Kim Foxx announced she would not run for re-election. 

“Kim Foxx has announced she will not seek re-election as Cook County State’s Attorney. I have been inundated with inquiries as to whether I may run,” Kirk said on Facebook. “Here is my statement: I have not made a decision about entering the race for State's Attorney, but one thing I know for sure is that the next State’s Attorney must make public safety their number one priority and work to restore the mission of the office as an unwavering voice for victims of crime. That has become painfully clear for all of us in Cook County.” 

Foxx's replacement should be a leader who could uphold the law according to Kirk. 

“Violent crime is an epidemic in Chicago right now and as we consider new leadership for the State's Attorney's Office, we must look to someone who has the strategic experience to hold violent offenders accountable under the law, while prioritizing alternatives to incarceration for younger and non-violent offenders. Justice demands it. Lives are depending on us to get this right.” 

Kirk spoke to WGN after Foxx’s announcement. 

“I know the office extremely well. I know where it can do better, and I know what it does well,” Kirk told WGN.

Kirk worked for former Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez for several years. Alvarez held the office from 2008 until 2016. 

“I think I got to the point where enough is enough,” Alvarez told Chicago Tonight in criticism of Foxx, WTTW reported. “This case has had so many different ramifications for the city, and in my opinion, it’s ‘do your job.’ You’re elected to do your job, do it. You have to make these tough decisions, you have to handle cases you may not want to handle, but that’s part of it, it’s part of the job.”

Kirk, who spent 15 years in the Cook County States Attorney's Office, penned an editorial regarding Foxx’s tenure, calling her a “Prosecutor in name Only.” 

“Meanwhile, criminals got the memo that compliance with the law is, for the first time ever, optional. You want to steal merchandise from a store? No problem — just keep it at around $999. You want to carjack someone? By all means, go ahead. You probably won’t get caught because a lack of meaningful prosecution has killed off proactive policing,” Kirk wrote in the New York Post. “The PINOs enacted their policies, and the policies yielded terrible results. Now, the people are in a position to evaluate whether they got what they bargained for when they gave these new prosecutors a chance.”