The killing happened hours after Brown announced he was resigning from the department and one day after Mayor Lori Lightfoot failed to garner enough votes to make the runoff election for her job. Singling out Vallas' expertise in city financing, policing and education, the Tribune Board felt he was both the most experienced and best positioned to handle the task of leading Chicago. That is not the entirety of this job. This week, Chicago Tribune reported its endorsements in the March 20 Illinois primary election. He faces bribery charges in connection with the states notorious red-light camera scandal, and has entered a not guilty plea. Brandon Johnson was rejected an endorsement due to proposals to raise taxes that the board says would cause more people to leave Chicago. David Shestokas gets our endorsement for Illinois Attorney General. It has been the privilege of a lifetime to lead the U.S. attorneys office in Chicago, Lausch said in a written statement. The driver of the vehicle has been charged with felony counts of illegal gun possession, and the case is still pending., Vallas told reporters on Thursday that Foxxs office is not getting serious with the gun crimes.. 74th District: Liandro Li Arellano, Jr. 17th District: Elizabeth Liz Doody Gorman. Amid that turmoil, Lausch was also leading his office through the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020, which virtually shut down the courthouse for a significant period, led to difficulties assembling grand juries to hear cases and has left a backlog of criminal defendants awaiting trial. He is well respected in the legal community, and we believe he would be able to recruit and retain skilled prosecutors while developing a relationship with the police that strikes the appropriate balance between partnership and accountability. Coziness invites intrusion from above in matters of patronage, policy and principle. The November election comes four months after the June 28 primary the quickest turnaround since at least the Great Depression. Paul Vallas touted his first endorsement Thursday since winning the initial round of voting in the Chicago mayoral election: that of longtime former Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White. That means the top two vote-getters advance to an April 4 runoff. Unlike Mayor Rahm Emanuel, she hasn't come to understand that it's not in the public interest to endlessly withhold information about deadly force incidents. Kim, who ran unsuccessfully for attorney general in 2010 and then as gubernatorial candidate Dan Rutherford's lieutenant governor running mate in their losing primary race in 2014 . Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot loses reelection bid; Paul Vallas, Brandon This case also should have taught her the peril of binding together the state and federal investigations. She's given plenty of thought to the suspicions and hostilities that have animated metropolitan Chicago since the McDonald case erupted in the public consciousness a year ago. Here are our choices for contested races in the court's 15 subcircuits. Courthouse in Chicago after verdicts were reached in the trial of singer R. Kelly. Given that the county has more 800 governmental units, thats a crucial quality that voters must keep in mind. CHICAGO Four years ago, Paul Vallas finished toward the bottom of the pack in a crowded race for Chicago mayor. In a sit-down with reporters a few months into his tenure, Lausch was careful to steer clear of any political questions, saying he was not getting pressure from Washington to change any office policies but declining to comment specifically about Trumps tweets. Nor have we joined the more recent chorus arguing that Alvarez's handling of the Laquan McDonald case disqualifies her from office. Over the last two years, drivers heading north on Elston Avenue in Chicago, to cite one example, could see a snaking line of freezing Chicagoans, just trying to make it inside to get their plates renewed. Attorney General Keith Ellison easily wins DFL endorsement for second term She spent 12 years as an assistant state's attorney, mostly in juvenile court, and served as chief of staff to Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle.. For now, reports Crain's Greg Hinz Endorsement: . (The Baltimore Sun video). The State's Attorney Office works to uphold public safety through the fair and efficient administration of justice. Since Lausch took over, his office has charged more than 80 reputed gang members under the federal racketeering statute, which brings hefty mandatory minimum sentences and in some cases can carry the death penalty. During a debate at the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board, Democratic candidate for Cook County state's attorney Kim Foxx and Republican candidate Christopher Pfannkuche address how the Laquan McDonald case degraded the integrity of theoffice. In the months since the release of that breathtaking video of McDonald crumpling onto a street, many among us have come to better understand why so many law-abiding Chicagoans distrust the criminal justice system here. On Nov. 8, Illinois voters will elect their governor, junior U.S. senator, two Illinois Supreme Court justices, all 17 of Illinois representatives in the U.S. Congress, every state senator and state representative in the General Assembly, and county and judicial offices throughout the state. Lausch, 52, who hails from Joliet and currently lives in Chicagos Beverly neighborhood, captained the 1987 state champion Joliet Catholic football team and was a linebacker and team captain at Harvard University. Alvarez came under fire amid the Laquan McDonald scandal. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune) In the large field of eight Democratic candidates running for Illinois attorney general, Sharon Fairley has now received the endorsement of both the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Tribune. All candidates for Illinois judicial offices in the March 20 primary election have been rated by Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) evaluation committees, or in a poll conducted by ISBA. This contest comes at a time when citizens of metropolitan Chicago are re-examining, and demanding better of, the criminal justice system here: How prosecutors make charging decisions. It's a tall mountain to climb. When Democrat Kwame Raoul took over as state attorney general in January 2019, we hoped he would chart a different course and assume a larger role in going after corruption. Tribune reporters Jeremy Gorner, Paige Fry, Rosemary Sobol, Deanease Williams-Harris and Shanzeh Ahmad contributed. Cuellar has been part of regular prayer meetings in the park hosted by some community members since the death of Ella French in 2021. In the post, DeVore wrote, Lord help us with the window lickers, I mean special children. After the post was widely shared, DeVore filed a libel suit in 2017 against three people, alleging they had falsely accused him of ridiculing children with special needs. McDonald, a 17-year-old Chicagoan, was shot and killed by Chicago Police officer Jason Van Dyke in October of 2014. I take the liberty of reproducing the Tribune's subcircuit endorsement editorial in full.The Tribune made endorsements Sunday in countywide races for the Cook County Circuit Court. Lausch succeeded Zachary Fardon, who stepped down from the post after Trump asked for the resignations of all Obama administration-era U.S. attorney holdovers. (Yes, its legal.). To our eyes . Obama makes rare endorsement via ad in Illinois House primary When he was elected governor of Illinois in 2018, J.B. Pritzker was blissfully unaware of the COVID-19 crisis that would dominate his first term. WTTW's 2020 Voter Guide is your comprehensive library of resources for the General Election on November 3. Former Secretary of State Jesse White, left, shakes hands with mayoral candidate Paul Vallas after announcing his endorsement for Vallas, March 2, 2023, in Chicago. [[Dont miss] Election 2022: What Illinois races do you care most about and what issues are important to you? Willie Wilson was criticized by the board for some of his controversial statements on the campaign trail, though he was praised for his philanthropy and personal success. Chicago City Clerk Anna Valencia now has the endorsements of both U.S. senators from Illinois. Most recently, the leader of the West Sides notoriously violent Wicked Town gang faction was convicted along with an associate on racketeering charges involving a string of murders, shootings, robberies, beatings and other violence going back two decades. An active and mostly-GOP push is underway to unseat him by asking voters to say No to his retention. For the list of sitting judges asking to be retained, nearly every one of them is recommended for retention by the three major judicial rating groups. The defendant, who was a passenger in the vehicle, was not charged with a felony because the evidence does not support a charge of gun possession for this offender. Beyond a polite hello in the elevator, prosecutors should be fiercely independent of politicians, especially those who sign off on their budget. Whether mayors, aldermen and other elected officials are doing all they can to ensure fairness in the system and to protect innocents from violent crime. Oscar Cuellar, an elder at Hope Church Midway, was one of the speakers. Van Dyke was not charged with McDonalds murder until November of 2015 when dash-cam footage of the incident was being made public as a result of a Freedom of Information Act request. Organized theft is estimated to cost retailers across the country as much as $45 billion in annual sales, and entails both the smash-and-grab thefts seen at high-end stores along Michigan Avenue in recent years, as well as sophisticated operations that target merchandise in trucks and railroad cars. ], [[Dont miss] See how candidates for governor answered our questions plus who the Tribune Editorial Board endorsed], [[Dont miss] Editorial: 175 years of editorials and counting]. Someone who knows the intricacies of felony statutes, what the precise burdens of proof will be, which arguments a jury is likely to embrace or discard. In 2018, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions tapped Lausch to oversee the process of sorting through roughly 880,000 records in part of the House probe into former Secretary of State Hillary Clintons use of a private email server. A state attorney general's primary duty is to serve as counsel to the state and its agencies and to act as the "people's lawyer" on behalf of its citizens. The clear and present dangers of intrusion from county pols run from patronage to policy to principle. When we wrote about this case before the March primary, we said that if we could choose one of the three Democrats in that race to prosecute a murder case, we'd choose Alvarez for her courtroom experience. Chicago Mayor Lightfoot Ousted; Vallas, Johnson in Runoff Signs promote candidates for office in downtown Waukegan. As the candidates for Cook County state's attorney debated the handling of the Laquan McDonald case before the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board on Feb. 4, 2016, incumbent Anita Alvarez defended her investigation, saying, "I don't believe any mistakes were made." Matt Foley of St. Gall Catholic Church leads a procession back to their church after walking in the 5200 block of South Spaulding Avenue in Chicago to sanctify the ground where Chicago police Officer Andres Vasquez-Lasso was shot and killed. (Phil Velasquez, Chicago Tribune). Ms. Mosbys other opponent, Thiru Vignarajah, is also a strong candidate who has well-articulated plans for the office, but we believe Mr. Bates experience and focus give him the edge. It will take a change in state law to make that happen, but Raoul says his team has made recommendations to the General Assemblys Joint Commission on Ethics and Lobbying Reform to broaden the AGs authority over corruption cases, as well as to ramp up the powers of the Legislative Inspector Generals Office. CHICAGO Cook County state's attorney Kim Foxx issued a statement Thursday addressing the criminal history of the 18-year-old suspected of killing Officer Andres Vasquez-Lasso on Wednesday as . What else should Illinoisans know about DeVore? A look at Manhattan D.A. candidates on the ballot in June's primary It was my honor each and every day to help carry out the offices mission to uphold the rule of law, keep our country safe, and protect our civil rights.. This is not an easy choice for Baltimore voters, but Mr. Bates gives Baltimore its best chance to break the cycle of violence. Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox each afternoon. I was exhausted., Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. Too often his response to critics is to simply sue them. Preceding him are four former Senate Democratic colleagues, Thomas Cullerton, Terry Link, Annazette Collins and Martin Sandoval (who died in 2020); a former GOP state senator, Sam McCann; former House Speaker and Democratic kingmaker Michael Madigan; and onetime Democratic state Reps. Luis Arroyo and Eddie Acevedo. We support the rights of unions to represent their members. Read the full editorial here. Despite very public calls to oust school board members and reject candidates who opposed fully reopening schools until April, Naperville District 203 and Indian Prairie School District 204 incumbents appear to have cruised to reelection by hefty margins. As we've written, beyond a polite hello in the elevator, prosecutors should be fiercely independent of politicians, especially those who sign off on their budget. You don't think that could happen? She worked well with a politically diverse County Board, and we think she can be a bridge to the bloodied communities that are most alienated from the criminal justice system. In that primary race we endorsed Democrat Kim Foxx, who had spent 12 years as an assistant state's attorney, mostly in juvenile court. Our editorials seek to help readers make sound decisions. Under Frerichs, Bright Start has gone from one of the nations worst-rated college savings programs to one of the best it has gotten a Gold rating from independent investment analysis firm Morningstar for five successive years. But, year after year, hundreds of young people are slaughtered in those communities by stone-cold killers who should be ostracized and punished. Results are available at www.isba.org/YouBeTheJudge. He has our endorsement. She was also endorsed by the Illinois AFL-CIO and Planned Parenthood. [Dont miss] Election 2022: What Illinois races do you care most about and what issues are important to you? CHICAGO Cook County state's attorney Kim Foxx issued a statement Thursday addressing the criminal history of the 18-year-old suspected of killing Officer Andres Vasquez-Lasso on Wednesday. Foxx suggested to us that she does understand the crime-fighting demands of the job.