Mayor Johnson says he's not trying to control which ICE abuse cases get referred to state's attorney

Mayor Brandon Johnson said Tuesday he’s not trying to control which cases documenting alleged abuse by federal agents get referred for potential prosecution by the state’s attorney’s office, but maintained he has the right to direct the Chicago Police Department to gather evidence.

State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke has argued that Johnson’s executive order attempting to hold federal immigration agents accountable for alleged abuses is “wholly inappropriate” and “jeopardizes our ability to effectively prosecute and secure convictions when federal law enforcement agents have committed a crime.”

An internal memo from O’Neill Burke’s policy chief took particular aim at language in the mayor’s executive order requiring Chicago Police Department supervisors to make felony referrals to the state’s attorney’s office “at the direction of the mayor’s office.”

The state’s attorney’s policy chief argued that defense attorneys would likely characterize any prosecution of federal agents as political and attempt to discredit CPD witnesses by suggesting their investigation was directed by the mayor’s office, creating “serious litigation issues” by summoning mayoral aides as witnesses.

Johnson disagreed. Asked whether he was open to the possibility of “carving out” that portion of his executive order, the mayor essentially said there’s no need to take it out.

“The executive order does not give any specification around me playing a role in determining whether or not a case should be referred or … prosecuted. The executive order spells out how the police department … conducts its efforts to be able to ascertain, and then determine, like any other case, whether it should move forward,” the mayor said during his weekly news conference at City Hall.

“The direction is to the police department — not to the state’s attorney. … That is within my authority. I direct the police department all the time. … It’s not just confined to the police department. I give direction as the chief executive of this city on a variety of issues.”

That direction had to be codified, Johnson said, to make certain there is “no ambiguity around how the police department can engage when they’re on site, and if they’re witnessing abusive behavior.”

Although O’Neill Burke appears to have ruled out abiding by the executive order, Johnson is holding out hope that he can use the 30-day rule-making process to, as he put it, “provide clarity around language” that will ultimately create “a pathway for accountability, a pathway for justice.”

“That’s our guiding north star in this moment: To make sure that this rogue and reckless, reprehensible government that is being carried out by right-wing extremists in this country are ultimately called to task because right now, it’s not happening. That’s why I’m willing to use any tool,” the mayor said.

“This is not even about politics for me. This is about saving lives and protecting the people of Chicago. This is about establishing a precedent for the rest of the country to embrace. That’s what this moment is calling for: real bold, tenacious leadership that is prepared and willing to stand up to a tyrant.”

For months, Chicago neighborhoods have endured the Trump administration's Operation Midway Blitz deportation campaign. But outrage here and across the nation boiled over when federal agents fatally shot Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, just months after Silverio Villegas Gonzalez was killed by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Franklin Park.

On Tuesday, Johnson said the deportation campaign has been “one of the most disturbing acts of violence by the government that we’ve seen in a generation.”

“When you have a father that’s dropping his children off to school, and then he gets murdered — and the federal government lies about it, we have to hold those individuals accountable,” he said.

“A woman was shot five times in the city of Chicago. They press charges against her, [only] to later drop those charges because they also lied about that. Storming apartment complexes in the middle of the night on the South Side of Chicago. Putting a Black man in a choke hold that was illegal — that’s a death sentence. Those individuals have to be held accountable.”

During Tuesday’s news conference, Johnson made it clear that the costly delay in Cook County property tax payments caused by a long-stalled computerized overhaul by Tyler Technologies has not soured his view of incumbent Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle.

"She's done an exceptional job over the years. I've found her leadership during times of crisis to be especially prudent. And I trust that the people of the county will see her leadership as something that is worthwhile continuing," the mayor said.