South Cook News

GOP gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey said the failed policies of Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx are behind business exiting the state.


“In the last few months, we have had major businesses like Boeing leave Chicago and one of the reasons these businesses are leaving is rising crime,” Bailey, a state senator from Xenia, said in a statement. “Crime is on the rise because of the inaction and ineptness of JB Pritzker at the state level and also because of the failure of Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx to do her job. This is not a result of incompetence. Foxx knows exactly what she is doing. She is deliberately not prosecuting crimes because she is more interested in forcing her Left-wing ideology on Cook County residents than she is in keeping people safe. Kim Foxx needs to go. I am calling for a law to allow Cook County voters to be able to recall terrible leaders like Kim Foxx. Cook County residents should not have to wait two years to throw Kim Foxx out of office. We need a change in leadership in that office and we need it now.”

The most productive airplane manufacturer in the world, Boeing, announced its departure from the state in early May, Sangamon Sun reported. In 2001, the aerospace juggernaut relocated from Washington, where it was founded, to Chicago. During the epidemic, the corporation had 16,000 job losses as a result of harsh layoffs—more than 10% of its whole staff.

Foxx received criticism in a letter of resignation from James Murphy III, her former office manager who oversaw grand jury and felony bond hearings.

“I cannot continue to work for an administration I no longer respect. A few months ago, I was summoned into a meeting with the state’s attorney so she could criticize some bond hearings I did. One involved a massive shootout and the other involved a woman who was walking to the store when she was gunned down in a crossfire. The bond hearings involved gun possession charges only. The state’s attorney communicated that she was upset because a headline in a newspaper read ‘Man won’t face murder charge under the Safe-T Act.’ The state’s attorney voiced her concern with the headline and the heat she was getting from her backers and never voiced any concern over the fact that this woman was shot and killed simply walking to the store. And nobody was going to face a murder charge,” Murphy said in the letter. “That is what is wrong with this administration. I’ve seen it day after day. How many mass shootings do there have to be before something is done? This administration is more concerned with political narratives and agendas than with victims and prosecuting violent crime. That is why I can’t stay any longer.”

Murphy also criticized the SAFE-T Act, which would take effect on Jan. 1, 2023, according to CWB Chicago.

Criminal cases will no longer require cash bail. The burden of proof falls on the prosecution under the SAFE-T Act if they believe a suspect in a crime needs to be imprisoned. The law only enables detention when it is shown that the defendant is guilty and "poses a specific, real and present threat to a person or has a high likelihood of willful flight."

Many locals are aware that Chicago's crime problems stem from the state's attorney's office's dismal track record of imprisoning criminals. Foxx has mandated that only thefts that cost more than $1,000 would be prosecuted as of 2016.

Theft has become more common in Chicago businesses. Critics note due to Foxx's leniency, shoplifting has become a serious problem that has resulted in the permanent closure of some businesses, Chicago City Wire reported. Local business owners worry that permitting crime to spiral out of control and not holding perpetrators accountable may serve as an incubator for more heinous crimes.