Kim Foxx passes on “foundation crimes” that lead to violence and murder
Foundation crimes are a part ad parcel of major crimes. If they are not addressed or confronted, or allowed to go unpunished, they lead to serious felonies and even murder. But sadly, that’s not how Cook County States Attorney Kim Foxx views her mandate to the protect all of the people in Cook County. Foxx is playing politics with crime to fuel her race-based election constituency
By Ray Hanania
If there is one thing that crime fighters will tell you, it is that individuals who engage in “foundation crimes” like disorderly conduct, curfew violations and criminal trespass are often the first people you look at when investigating a murder or felony violence.
Cook County States Attorney Kim Foxx, who is playing a game of race politics, has thrown out foundation crimes, and even in some cases characterized many acts of violence as misdemeanors.
As a result, Foxx is doing more to help suspects accused of crimes than she is protecting law-abiding citizens against crimes.
Nothing encourages criminals more than knowing the line of prosecution has been pushed way back. Foxx is dismissing the foundation crimes, all the crimes up to the point of killing someone.
Controversy-plagued Cook County States Attorney Kim Foxx. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia
It’s a clear signal to criminals. All of the things they do leading up to murder are not being challenged by Foxx. The road to killing is wide open under Foxx. Criminals are innocent of the foundation crimes that lead to murder, and without the pushback end up murdering people.
Trespassing maybe a “misdemeanor,” but in an investigation, trespassing is usually the first step in a killing.
Foundation crimes that lead up to worse criminal behavior have suddenly become accepted under Foxx. The message is clear to criminals, if you are going to kill someone, you have a better chance of avoiding prosecution in Cook County. It’s like a beacon call to criminals to come here.
Several studies show Foxx sympathizes with criminals. She ordered the dismissals of felony charges against suspects who she asserts are “non-violent.”
But Foxx is cheating the system because most investigations of murder begin with suspicions and evidence against violent criminals that slowly rises from non-violent factual evidence to violent factual evidence. But before the cases are completed, the investigations are suppressed, and charges sought are dismissed.
Just ask any Police investigator today. They say the same thing. Foxx is making it harder and harder to prove cases against violent criminals, so only prosecute the easy ones where the suspect is obviously guilty and their dismissal won’t be an embarrassment to Foxx’s political career.
Last year, the Chicago Tribune, one of the few news media with the resources to thoroughly investigate Foxx’s failures, reported Foxx was not being honest when claiming her higher rate of felony dismissal reflected her policy to dismiss cases involving “low-level, nonviolent offenders.”
The Tribune analysis concluded, “Foxx’s higher rates of dropped cases included people accused of murder, shooting another person, sex crimes, and attacks on police officers — as well as serious drug offenses that for decades have driven much of Chicago’s street violence.”
The Tribune also concluded in its November 2020 study that under Foxx there was a higher rate of dropped cases “for aggravated battery and for aggravated battery with a firearm.” They added that “the percentage of cases dropped for defendants accused of aggravated battery of a police officer more than doubled, from 3.9% to 8.1%” in comparison to her predecessor.
That’s a nearly three times increase in Foxx refusing to prosecute cases involving violence against uniformed police officers than her predecessor, Anita Alvarez
Normally, that finding would be enough to spark a recall of an elected official like Kim Foxx who is basically using her office as a political platform to advance a race agenda to empower her political allies in Chicago.
But like I said, this involves race, and Kim Foxx hides behind it knowing that any effort to expose her actions would draw fire as being “racist” because it is critical of an African American elected official.
In June 2020, months before the Tribune investigation was published, Kim Foxx appeared on the political forum on Public Television, where she broadly defended the protests that served as cover for the worst period of violence, looting and destruction Chicago has seen since the 1968 riots.
Foxx ordered prosecutors to drop charges involving “disorderly conduct, unlawful gathering, public demonstration, criminal trespass and curfew violations,” all foundation crimes often found in murder investigations.
“Over the past month we have seen righteous anger, collective grief, action, and demands for justice,” Foxx said in a release after the wave of looting, burning and violence that followed the George Flood killing.
“I’m encouraged by the efforts of those who are standing against years of racial injustice to resoundingly state that Black Lives Matter. We have the right to peacefully protest for change, but those choosing to exploit this moment, by causing harm and damage, will be held accountable.”
In her statement, she didn’t say “they” had a right. She said “we” have a right, meaning she is a part of the problem.
(Ray Hanania is an award winning former Chicago City Hall reporter and political columnist. This column was originally published in the Southwest News Newspaper Group in the Des Plaines Valley News, Southwest News-Herald, The Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers. For more information on Ray Hanania visit www.Hanania.com or email him at rghanania@gmail.com.)
Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
A critic of mainstream news media bias, Hanania advocates for peace & justice for Israel & Palestine, & the empowerment of Arabs in America.
Click here to listen to Ray's Political Podcast.
Hanania's columns are archived on his personal website at RayHanania.com. Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.
Hanania is President/CEO of Urban Strategies Group which provides communications services to governments and private businesses, and hosts writing training workshops, and publishes books.
Email Ray Hanania at rghanania@gmail.com.
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