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The Cook County State's Attorney, Eileen Burke, presented a revised budget request for fiscal year 2027 to the Cook County Board of Commissioners. The hearing focused on a request for 70 new positions, which the State's Attorney argued would be largely budget-neutral through savings from reduced outside counsel, overtime restructuring, and turnover adjustments. Commissioners questioned the request's sustainability, funding sources, and impact on the county's budget, as well as the office's policies on prosecuting retail theft, ICE-related referrals, and restorative justice programs.
The hearing for the presentation of the Kirk County State's attorney. Eileen. I mean the Honorable I mean Burke. Good afternoon. All right. Thank you. Good afternoon, all. Good afternoon. Thank you, Chairman Daly. First thing I'd like to introduce the members of my leadership team who are here today. Behind me is first assistant, Craig Enge Bretson, which I had to practice that name several times before I got it right, but I got it right now. My chief of staff, Don Black, my uh Chief Assistant States Attorney for Policy and External Affairs of At Loisen, and the Master of Ceremonies, our Chief Financial Officer, John Hurrahane. I always invite our Bureau Chiefs to join us in the gallery, and they are over there. I do that because they are the driving force behind our office and the people who make so much of the progress that we have made possible. Each and every one of our Bureau chiefs are experts in their field. They put in long hours, they make difficult decisions, and they lead their teams every day to ensure that we are serving Cook County residents as effectively as possible. I'm proud of the work that they do, and I want to recognize their contributions. I know you've been in budget hearings for much of the week, so I am going to keep my remarks focused and to the point. At the Cook County States Attorney's Office, we are determined to keep building on the significant progress we have made in strengthening our workforce, professionalizing our operations and improving the services that we offer to victims and witnesses. Before I get into the specifics of our budget request, I want to start with the bigger picture. Every investment into our office is an investment in our ability to seek and deliver justice for the people of Cook County. That investment has a real and tangible impact. Additional attorneys allow us to move cases forward more expeditiously and reduce delays for victims and witnesses who have already endured trauma. More digital evidence, analysts ensure that we can utilize the best possible evidence, helping us build stronger cases while safeguarding against wrongful convictions. And additional victim specialists mean more people receive the support, guidance, and resources they need during some of the most difficult moments of their lives. The budget request we put before you is a thoughtful, fiscally responsible plan designed to address our immediate needs while generating long-term savings for the county. Our proposal is budget neutral. It closes critical gaps in our workforce and it ensures that we receive the resources that are necessary to do our jobs. The request that I'm presenting today should not be seen in isolation from everything else I've shared here before. This is the next step in our strategic multi-year plan that allows the State's attorney's office to maximize its positive impact for the public while also being good financial stewards for the county funds. So let me walk through what we have asked for and why. Going into this budget season, we identified a need for 154 new positions. We've since narrowed that request and are coming to you now with a revised request for 70 additional positions in fiscal year 2027. These 70 positions are mission critical and reflecting a pressing need to add more attorneys, digital forensic analysts, mental health and victim specialists, and paralegals to our ranks. These are not just positions that allow us to fulfill our responsibilities. They will create downstream efficiencies across the entire justice system. Most of these 70 positions can be paid for by expanding our capacity to handle civil matters for the county, which I will explain momentarily. Combined with other savings from a new first appearance court unit that eliminates a longtime practice of giving overtime pay for attorneys covering weekend assignments. We expect that 50 of the 70 positions are permanently budget neutral. The remaining 20 positions are budget neutral this year through adjustments to our turnover rate and represent critical investments that will improve long-term productivity and efficiency. So let's start with the civil attorneys. As you know, our office is unique in prosecutors' offices because, in addition, in addition to handling criminal prosecutions, we also serve as the county's legal counsel and defended against litigation, alleged civil rights violations, workers' compensation claims, torts, labor and employment, and subpoena responses. But that's not all they do. Our Civil Actions Bureau can also generate money into the county. The Civil Actions Bureau collected 173 million from Sam's Club and Costco and others in class action settlement. Historically, though, the Cook County States Attorney's Office has lacked the attorney manpower to handle all of the county's civil cases in-house, meaning we need to contract with outside counsel to bridge that gap. Over the last decade, the number of contracted outside counsel has increased significantly.