Eileen O’Neill Burke, a Democrat who previously served as prosecutor and judge, will replace Kim Foxx as Cook County’s next state’s attorney. (Provided)

Eileen O’Neill Burke, a Democrat who previously served as prosecutor and judge, will replace Kim Foxx as Cook County’s next state’s attorney, according to the Associated Press.

The AP declared Burke the winner just before 9 p.m. in one of the most closely watched races on Election Day in Chicago.

Burke, a former circuit and appellate level judge who also served as both an assistant state’s attorney and defense attorney, received 65% of votes to defeat Republican former alderperson Bob Fioretti (31%) and Libertarian Andrew Charles Kopinski (4%) with 59% of votes counted, according to unofficial results.

In her victory speech Tuesday night, O’Neill Burke pledged to work “tirelessly” as state’s attorney to represent victims, uphold the laws and make justice accessible for everyone.

“That is a mission I will undertake with humility and dedication,” she said. “The way to predict the future is to create it. And today, I am telling you, together, we are going to create something extraordinary.”

She ran as a tough-on-crime candidate, which she believes is a necessary response to Foxx’s softer approach to low-level crimes.

“We don’t have to choose between safety or justice. We can have both with the right leadership,” O’Neill Burke said in the WTTW News Voter Guide. “Above all, I know that no State’s Attorney can be successful without earning the trust of the public. I will lead an office with the highest standards of professionalism, and I look forward to sharing my vision with voters to make the office of the Cook County State’s Attorney one of the best prosecutor’s offices in the country.”

O’Neill Burke has also criticized Foxx, saying the state’s attorney’s office is not currently working for “victims, defendants, advocates, or citizens in general,” which she blames for a high turnover rate within the office.

O’Neill Burke has promised to create a new education and training curriculum for incoming attorneys and has said she would not continue Foxx’s felony prosecution policy for shoplifting cases, which requires that stolen goods must be worth at least $1,000 rather than the $300 limit set forth under state law.

During her speech, she pointed to the murder of Chicago police Officer Enrique Martinez, who was killed during a traffic stop in East Chatham on Monday night, saying her “heart was broken, but my spirit is not broken.”

“We will get assault weapons off the street,” she said, “and we will make this community safer for everyone.”

Foxx’s office congratulated Burke in a statement late Tuesday and said it is committed to a “smooth transition for our residents & toward achieving Justice Burke’s vision of expanded restorative justice that serves all communities.”

Fioretti, a longtime political candidate and former 2nd Ward alderperson, had previously run for the state’s attorney’s seat as a Democratic but flipped to the Republican party prior to the 2024 election cycle.

He slammed Foxx for being weak on crime, saying in the WTTW News Voter Guide that the current State’s Attorney’s Office is “a disaster for every person in Cook County except violent criminals.”

“Crime in Cook County is out of control and the State’s Attorney’s Office has failed the people of Cook County,” he told WTTW News. “Kim Foxx abandoned the mission of the office: prosecute crime and bring justice to the victims of crimes.”

Fioretti also promised to reverse Foxx’s felony shoplifting policy and said he didn’t support the elimination of cash bail under the SAFE-T Act.

Fioretti — who has previously run unsuccessful campaigns seeking to become state’s attorney, Chicago mayor, Cook County Board president and state senator in Illinois’ 5th District — said Tuesday he would “absolutely” challenge the results should he lose his latest race, alleging there had been some irregularities at polling places.

Kopinski, an attorney and real estate broker, also said he believes the elimination of cash bail shows that Illinois is soft on crime and believes the State’s Attorney’s Office needs to fix its attrition rate and bring in more high-quality prosecutors.

Foxx, who took over as state’s attorney in 2016, announced last year she would not be seeking a third term. She implemented several progressive policies during her tenure, including expunging thousands of low-level drug convictions, overturning wrongful convictions and increasing transparency throughout her office.

But she also faced widespread national criticism for her handling of the Jussie Smollett hoax hate crime prosecution.

Cook County Clerk

Democrat Monica M. Gordon will be the next Cook County clerk, after the Associated Press declared her the winner of a three-way race to serve out the final two years of Karen Yarbrough’s term in office.

Gordon faced off against Republican Michelle Pennington and Libertarian candidate Christopher M. Laurent.

The AP declared Gordon the winner as she led with 65% of votes, ahead of Pennington (31%) and Laurent (4%) with 57% of votes counted, according to unofficial results.

Yarbrough, the first Black woman to serve as Cook County clerk, died earlier this year at the age of 73.

Since 2022, Gordon has represented Cook County’s 5th District on the Cook County Board of Commissioners, which includes areas of the southwest suburbs including Orland Park and Tinley Park.

Earlier this year, Cook County Democrats tapped her to replace Yarbrough on the November ballot.

Gordon was expected to garner tremendous support in the heavily Democratic county, just as her predecessor had. In 2018, Yarbrough ran unopposed and four years later when she faced a Republican challenger in 2022, she received 72% of votes.

Gordon also received endorsements from major labor organizations such as SEIU Local 73, Operating Engineers Local 150, Operating Engineers Local 399 and LIUNA.

The clerk’s office administers elections for all suburban Cook County voters and is responsible for maintaining and providing vital records, such as birth, marriage and death certificates.

Circuit Court Clerk

Democrat Mariyana Spyropoulos has been declared the winner in the race to become Cook County’s new circuit court clerk.

The Associated Press called the race for Spyropoulos just before 10 p.m. as she defeated Republican Lupe Aguirre and Libertarian Michael Murphy.

Spyropoulos received 66% of votes, according to unofficial results, ahead of Aguirre (29%) and Murphy (7%), with 89.6% of precincts reporting.

The Circuit Court clerk manages court records and orders while also serving the more than 400 judges who hear traffic, civil, criminal, juvenile and all other cases originating in Chicago and suburban Cook County.

Spyropoulos easily defeated incumbent clerk Iris Martinez in the spring Democratic primary, earning 65% of votes.

An attorney who has also served multiple terms on the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, Spyropoulos said she plans to begin digitizing all court files — which she’s claimed would save the county millions of dollars — simplify the office’s filing fee and fight corruption within the office.

In 2023, dozens of employees from the clerk’s office were either fired or chose to resign amid COVID-19 relief fraud allegations.

Asked about those allegations as part of WTTW’s Voter Guide, Spyropoulos said: “The office needs to hire skilled and professional people. People should not be hired because they are the friends and family of other staffers.”

Aguirre previously ran unsuccessfully for Cook County sheriff in 2022 and for the Cook County Board of Commissioners in 2018.

Murphy, who works in IT systems administration, told WTTW News the clerk’s office is “broken, understaffed, and highly corrupt” and that he hopes to “remove all the red tape” if elected.

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District

Voters on Tuesday will also select three new commissioners for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) — one of the lesser-known races, but one that will see its winners in office for the longest time.

Three Democrats, three Republicans and one Green Party candidate are vying to fill three 6-year terms.

The candidates include: incumbents Marcelino Garcia and Kari Steele, environmental engineer Sharon Waller, Brendan Ehlers, Richard F. Dale, Claire Connelly and Cook County Green Party Chairwoman Toneal Jackson.

Democrats Steele (24%), Garcia (22%) and Waller (21%) were ahead early over Connelly (11%), Dale (10%), Ehlers (9%) and Jackson (4%), according to early unofficial results from the Associated Press.

Waller joined Garcia and Steele in advancing out of the spring Democratic primary, where they defeated incumbent Daniel “Pogo” Pogorzelski.

Connelly, Dale and Ehlers each advanced out of the Republican primary.

The MWRD is responsible for protecting local homes and businesses from flood damage and for protecting the water quality of Lake Michigan and Chicago-area rivers and streams.