Cook County’s top prosecutor outlines plan to crack down on law-breaking ICE agents

Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke unveiled new guidance Thursday for prosecuting the alleged crimes of federal immigration agents, after denouncing a plan put forth by Mayor Brandon Johnson and facing mounting pressure to do more to address the feds’ at times aggressive and violent tactics.

It marks the most tangible step O’Neill Burke’s office has taken to crack down on the federal agents carrying out President Donald Trump’s aggressive deportation campaign.

“No one is above the law — including both ICE agents and prosecutors,” O’Neill Burke said in a statement. “If a federal law enforcement agent commits a crime, my office will not hesitate to act, in accordance with state law. This protocol establishes clear, legally sound guidelines to ensure we have a responsible and effective path to pursue accountability.”

Over the past month, elected officials have criticized O’Neill Burke for failing to act as aggressively as her counterparts in Minnesota in response to shootings by federal agents. O’Neill Burke has maintained that her office is limited in its ability to actually prosecute and convict on-duty federal agents. 

Meantime, her office has been working to develop a system to clarify the roles cops and prosecutors will play in investigating and bringing charges against federal agents accused of crimes, including shootings and other acts of violence. The protocol was developed in collaboration with Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and the Illinois State’s Attorneys Association.

“Law enforcement officers are entrusted with extraordinary authority to serve the public and keep our communities safe,” Raoul said in a statement. “When that authority is abused or escalates into unlawful violence, prosecutors must take action if the burden of proof can be met.

“I am proud to stand with State’s Attorney Burke and fellow prosecutors committed to using every lawful tool available to hold this administration accountable consistent with this protocol.”

Mayor Johnson previously signed an executive order last month instructing Chicago police to investigate alleged misconduct by the feds and make referrals to the state’s attorney “at the direction of the Mayor’s Office.” The state’s attorney’s office called the order “wholly inappropriate,” saying it raises issues of political interference that could jeopardize criminal cases.

Under the plan outlined by O’Neill Burke, law enforcement agencies will lead criminal investigations by collecting and preserving evidence. If law enforcement needs assistance getting sworn testimony or additional evidence that's not volunteered, the state’s attorney’s office can step in and impanel a grand jury. Prosecutors will conduct an independent review of all evidence and make charging decisions, as they do in all felony cases.

But in these cases, O’Neill Burke’s office will also have to consider the specific protections offered to on-duty federal agents — demonstrating the officer does not have Supremacy Clause immunity. That protects federal officers from state prosecution while acting in their official capacity, as long as they “did no more than what was necessary and proper for him to do.”

Over the past six months, federal agents have torn through cities across the country, carrying out Trump’s audacious immigration enforcement blitz. Agents have unleashed unprecedented levels of force, deploying tear gas, pepper balls and fatally shooting people in both Minneapolis and Chicago in recent months.

But so far, no federal agents have been charged with committing a crime while on the job. Officials in Minneapolis have launched an investigation into the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. But they have yet to file any charges and are running into roadblocks while trying to obtain evidence from the federal government.

In the Chicago area, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer has been charged with attacking a protester while off-duty in Brookfield.