Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx are publicly at odds over a deadly shooting incident that occurred in the city’s North Austin neighborhood on October 1. The incident left one shooter dead and two others injured; yet, as of today, no charges have been filed against anyone.
The shooting, described by some as a “Wild West” type of incident, occurred in broad daylight at approximately 11:00 a.m. on Friday. Five suspects were originally detained by police in the incident but were released without charges after police consulted with prosecutors.
A pod camera caught much of the incident, and police were on hand to witness the end of the incident. Two rival factions of the Chicago street gang Four Corner Hustlers were reported involved in the shooting.
Still, with video footage of the incident and police witnesses, no arrests have been made and no charges have been filed.
In a statement released on Sunday, the Cook County state’s attorney’s office explained that prosecutors had “determined that the evidence was insufficient to meet our burden of proof to approve felony charges.” The state’s attorney’s office further claimed that the police department agreed with the decision.
The police report also cited the fact that the gunfire was exchanged between members of the same gang saying that “mutual combatants was cited as the reason for the rejection.”
The lack of any charges caused even the Windy City’s far-left mayor Lori Lightfoot to question just what the Cook County District Attorney’s Office, headed by far-left state’s attorney Kim Foxx, is doing. Lightfoot, along with five of the city’s aldermen, wrote Foxx a letter asking for an explanation.
“I just want you to know that this is of deep concern to me,” Lightfoot said on Monday.
“Having looked at this; gotten a deeper understanding from the detectives that were doing the investigation; it’s really hard to understand that decision,” the letter reportedly read.
“It’s complicated, for sure. But we really urge the State Attorney herself to get personally involved, look at the evidence and bring charges, at a minimum, against the individuals who initiated the gunfire.”
“We can’t live in a world where there’s no accountability,” Lightfoot explained. “meaning individuals who wreak havoc, who fire indiscriminately, or fire at a target but without any regard to life and the health and wellbeing of others.”
Lightfoot, a former federal prosecutor, claimed that not charging the shooters could lead to similar incidents in the future — especially if the shooters involved are allowed to go free.
“If they do not feel like the criminal justice system is going to hold them accountable, we’re going to see a level of brazenness that will send this city into chaos,” Lightfoot warned. “And we cannot let that happen. We simply cannot let that happen.”
Foxx claimed to be “mortified” by the mayor’s assertions, and was clearly caught off guard. The State’s Attorney claimed that LIghtfoot was attempting to “try cases in the media.”
“I find myself here today having to respond to a narrative given by the mayor,” Foxx said. “There were statements made by the mayor yesterday regarding the evidence in this case that were simply not true. It was inappropriate. It was wrong.”
In Foxx’s eyes, the video footage and the eyewitness testimony of the Chicago Police on hand did not meet her standards in order to bring charges.
“In order for us to bring charges in a case, it’s not simply we saw in a video that something happened. We need to be able to say that the person we arrested and charged is the same person who engaged in the act,” Foxx said.
Foxx hid behind the notion that an investigation was still pending, and therefore, she could not discuss much about the case.
“As our prosecutor, we do not talk about pending cases,” the State’s Attorney said. “We recognize that our words as they go out can be used by a defense counsel or a jury. This is not a sport, these are not numbers on a scoreboard, these are lives, these are communities.”
Lightfoot’s attempt to look tough on crime may be a signal that she’s leaning toward running for reelection in 2023. Up until now, she’s been vague when asked if she will run again, saying that “it’s not a gimme,” that she’ll run again.
Foxx is the state’s attorney who famously dropped all charges against hate crime hoaxer Jussie Smollet in 2019.
Foxx is also said to have political ambitions for the future — possibly even the mayor’s office. If crime in Chicago is a big issue — and it seems destined to be — Foxx will have a tough hill to climb as the Chicago Tribune has reported that Foxx’s office has dropped all charges against nearly 30 percent of all felony defendants.
Perhaps Foxx is looking to drop that percentage by never filing charges in the first place.
