Lightfoot Joins Latino Leaders Demanding O’Neill Burke Meet With Community, Act on ICE Abuses
Lightfoot says CCSAO has existing infrastructure to initiate investigations of federal agents
Former Chicago Mayor and federal prosecutor Lori Lightfoot joined Latino leaders at Daley Plaza on Friday to demand that Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke meet directly with the community and take action toward accountability for alleged crimes and abuses by federal immigration agents.
Lightfoot, founder of the ICE Accountability Project, joined leaders of the Illinois Latino Agenda, Latino Leadership Council and Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois, including Linda Tortolero, Martin Castro and Berto Aguayo. The coalition convened the press conference after months of requests for a direct meeting with O’Neill Burke and calls for investigation of federal immigration agents’ conduct in Cook County.
The group said those requests have included a petition signed by more than 400 elected officials and community leaders and pointed to findings by the Illinois Accountability Commission that further investigation is warranted.
“No government leader has the right to block the demands of the people for transparency and accountability,” Lightfoot said. “It is highly disappointing that the Cook County State’s Attorney as a public official has not gotten the memo about the need to be open, engaging and transparent.”
Lightfoot also challenged the State’s Attorney’s assertion that her office cannot itself initiate investigations into alleged criminal conduct by federal immigration officers. She pointed to CCSAO’s more than 100 investigators, its Felony Review Unit, prosecutors dedicated to law-enforcement cases and the office’s longstanding role in cases involving allegations of police misconduct.
CCSAO’s February protocol states that the office can support law-enforcement investigations and independently review evidence for potential felony charges, but “does not lead” the underlying investigation.
“Stop with the excuses, stop with the smokescreen,” Lightfoot said. “We need the duly elected State’s Attorney of Cook County to do her job in pursuit of justice for the now thousands of Cook County residents who are victims of the crimes and abuses of federal immigration agents run amok.”
Lightfoot closed by pledging that she and the ICE Accountability Project will continue standing with victims, survivors and communities demanding accountability.
“The survivors and families of the dead, the wounded and those with long-lasting trauma deserve our continued support, but there can be no healing without accountability,” Lightfoot said. “We will not go away. We will continue to lift our voice, as this is what this moment demands.”
FULL REMARKS
Good morning. I am Lori Lightfoot, former Mayor of Chicago, former Federal prosecutor here in Chicago and importantly, founder of the ICE Accountability Project. You can find us at ReportICENOW.com.
I want to thank these esteemed Latino Leaders for their dedication, perseverance and passion. They advocate for just causes and in particular lift up the needs of people in their communities and hold government officials, whether elected or appointed, accountable to ensure that the daily struggles and realities of individuals and the Latino diaspora as a whole are reflected in the workings of government.
To be clear, no government leader has the right to block the demands of the people for transparency and accountability. It is a fundamental tenet on which our unique American experiment was founded. It is highly disappointing that the Cook County State’s Attorney as a public official has not gotten the memo about the need to be open, engaging and transparent. We have a proud and long history of community engagement and activism here in Chicago and Chicagoland, needed now more than ever and we will never apologize if that makes some in the high and mighty class uncomfortable.
Remember this, sitting up in your office tower, you exist to serve the people, and we the people demand your time, and attention to bringing accountability to those federal immigration agents who killed, shot and harmed innocent residents of our community.
And enough with the excuses. There is no wall between the State’s Attorney and local law enforcement. That is a total fabrication meant to shield yourself from your own accountability.
How do you make those false claims when the SAO has for more than 20 years had an agreement with first OPS, then IPRA to take over investigation of police shootings and other serious allegations of misconduct by Chicago Police officers?
How do you make this claim when you have a unit of prosecutors and investigators within your office dedicated to prosecutions of Law enforcement and have for years?
How do you continue to stand on this false ground when every day, 24 hours a day your felony review unit is deeply involved in the investigation of crimes across Cook County, hand and glove with local law enforcement.
And are you saying that the 100 plus Investigators on your payroll do no independent investigation of crimes?
Stop with the excuses, stop with the smokescreen. We need the duly elected States Attorney of Cook County to do her job in pursuit of justice for the now thousands of Cook County residents who are victims of the crimes and abuses of federal immigration agents run amok.
The survivors and families of the dead, the wounded and those with long-lasting trauma deserve our continued support, but there can be no healing without accountability. We will not go away, we will continue to lift our voices as this is what this moment demands.
Thank you.