Preckwinkle calls on top Cook County prosecutor to investigate ICE, feds involved in Chicago area shootings
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, along with more than half of the county’s commissioners, have called on Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neil Burke to file charges against federal immigration agents involved in shootings that took place last year in the Chicago area — though Burke says her office has no jurisdiction.
The statement points to the fatal shooting of Silverio Villegas González, who was shot by federal immigration agents last September in suburban Franklin Park. The statement also points to the shooting that wounded Marimar Martinez, who survived after being shot multiple times by a federal agent last year. It asks the state’s attorney to investigate any and “all available charges” and “use of excessive force” in the shootings.
They also point to the historic disproportionate use of force by law enforcement against Black residents, and said justice must be applied evenly because, “No officer and no agency is above the law.”
“The Trump Administration’s immigration enforcement agenda has produced a clear and alarming pattern of violence,” the statement said. “We support thorough law enforcement investigations wherever federal agents have violated the law. We urge the Cook County State’s Attorney to act swiftly, proactively and transparently to ensure accountability and deliver justice for the families and communities who have been harmed.”
It comes just over a week after Illinois House Democrats released a similar call to action aimed at the state’s attorney’s office.
The Cook County State’s Attorney’s office said though Burke is “deeply concerned” about the “abhorrent behavior” of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents nationwide, her office “does not conduct independent investigations into criminal conduct and lacks jurisdiction over federal agencies, except in extremely narrow and limited circumstances.”
Burke said her team has drafted a protocol for how local legal systems can respond to federal agents in a way that’s “clear and grounded in law,” which the office said has been shared with local and state law enforcement, as well as other prosecutors for feedback.
“We are committed to doing all we can under the law to support and review law enforcement investigations of that conduct and prosecute when appropriate,” Burke's office said in a statement.
Burke has found herself between local leaders grasping at ways to hold federal agents accountable for wounding and killing residents, federal laws that often block those actions, and President Donald Trump's administration which has blocked use of force investigations.
Last week, Burke told her staff that Mayor Brandon Johnson’s recent executive order — which orders CPD to document potential crimes committed by federal agents — is inappropriate and could jeopardize criminal prosecutions.
Johnson defended the move, and said he was trying to help Burke by providing evidence for prosecutions of federal agents, which he claimed she has spoken about publicly.
It’s one of many moves state, county and local officials have taken in attempts to curb federal agents in the Chicago area, though many have faced legal uncertainty, and experts have cast doubt on one executive order Johnson signed in August that threatened lawsuits against federal agents.
In November, now former Cook County Circuit Chief Judge Timothy Evans signed an order barring civil arrests, or those without a warrant signed by a judge, at county courts, though federal officials vowed to violate it anyways.