Cook County Dems Endorse Foxx In State’s Attorney Race

Drug charges against a Chicago man serving a 14-year sentence and who said he was framed by a corrupt faction of the Chicago Police Department are expected to be dropped Thursday morning, meaning the man, Ben Baker, could go free as early as Thursday afternoon, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Two candidates challenging Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez have made their pitches to Chicago area Democrats in hopes of an endorsement. She’s facing scrutiny and near daily calls for her resignation since waiting a year to charge a white Chicago police officer with murder after he shot a black teenager 16 times in 2014.

Alvarez has been on the defensive, saying such investigations take time. “If someone’s beholden to another politician then I think there are questions”, Alvarez said. The 80 Democratic committeemen considering the endorsement include Chicago aldermen, state lawmakers and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, Foxx’s former boss.

“As soon as this case was brought to our attention my Conviction Integrity Unit began an immediate review of this case”, Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez said in a news release.

The Cook County Democratic Party has voted to endorse Kim Foxx in the March 15 primary race for the county’s state’s attorney post. Some directly attributed the pivot to the growing discord over the McDonald case and other issues, but others have alleged political motivations.

Alvarez said she doesn’t expect the Cook County Democratic Party’s support and her campaign says she won’t participate. The partys backing has meant less in recent years, though, as patronage has dwindled.CANDIDATE CLAIMSChallenger Donna More, a former prosecutor, called the endorsement process a political play because of Foxxs ties to prominent Democrats.

Even More’s campaign said it believed Foxx would receive party backing. More said. But Foxx says the party endorsement is but a small part of her campaign.

“Her managerial experience comes because she gets to use Toni Preckwinkle’s name”, More said.