About the Candidate
Name: Patrick W. ‘Pat’ O’Brien
DOB: May 12, 1950
Occupation: Attorney
Political Experience: Judge of the Cook County Circuit Court
Website: obrienforcook.com
Twitter: @OBrienforSA
Candidate Statement
My name is Pat O’Brien, and I’m running for Cook County State’s Attorney to reverse the ineffective and corrupt policies of Kim Foxx.
The office is in a state of disarray.
Criminals are free, and law-abiding citizens are prisoners in their homes.
The State’s Attorney needs to change, and I am the leader to restore integrity and order in the office.
In over forty years of practice, I served as an Assistant State’s Attorney and an Assistant Illinois Attorney General.
I have been a defense attorney in private practice, and I was elected as a Cook County Judge who presided over civil and criminal cases.
As an Assistant State’s Attorney, I held numerous leadership positions, including Chief Deputy of the Criminal Bureaus, where I supervised over eight hundred Assistant Attorneys.
I pledge the State’s Attorney’s Office will be professional, apolitical, and committed to the safety of our people.
Professionalism demands all Assistant Attorneys understand they are to enforce the criminal statutes without regard to the power or political influence of outside forces.
The State’s Attorney’s Office needs to be apolitical and free of decisions shaped by social, economic, or political agendas which corrupt the integrity of the office.
This has happened time and time again under the reign of Kim Foxx.
As your State’s Attorney, my sole mission will be the safety of the community.
I will target guns, gangs, and drugs to free our neighborhoods from their grip.
I will enforce the criminal statutes, as written, and not with political agendas.
I will vigorously pursue criminal cases to their resolution.
I will connect the office to the community through early education and outreach.
And I will closely monitor defendants who are awaiting trial while on bond or electronic monitoring.
I have experience as an attorney and judge in both civil and criminal matters.
I have supervised all Cook County State’s Attorneys in all the criminal bureaus.
I am not beholden to any politician.
Most importantly, I am committed to following the State’s Attorney Oath of Office and will always work in ways that honor and respect you.
Thank you.
Candidate Q&A
Why are you running?
The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office is in a state of disarray. Criminals are free, and law-abiding citizens are prisoners in their homes. The Cook County State’s Attorney needs to change. I am the leader offering that change to restore integrity and order in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. I am running for Cook County State’s Attorney to reverse the ineffective and corrupt policies of current Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx. We can no longer protect the criminal at the expense of the law-abiding citizens of Cook County.
What is your vision for this office?
I pledge that the State’s Attorney’s Office will be professional, apolitical, and committed to the safety of the People of Cook County.
Professionalism demands that all Assistant State’s Attorneys understand they are to enforce the criminal statutes without regard to the power or political influence of outside forces. This Office is unique in that the decisions to charge and prosecute violations of the law are not made based on an individual’s social standing, economic status, or political clout. The public may, on occasion, disagree with a decision or an outcome of a case; however, they must be confident that the decision was made based only on the law and facts.
The State’s Attorney’s Office needs to be apolitical because people, even other elected officials, may have an agenda which is at odds with the State’s Attorney’s oath to enforce the Illinois criminal statutes. The State’s Attorney is the sole County Official with the duty to prosecute people who break the law. A prosecutor’s decisions shaped by a social, economic, or political agenda, and not the law, corrupts the integrity of the State’s Attorney Office. This has happened time and time again under the reign of Kim Foxx.
Finally, the State’s Attorney must be committed to the safety of the community.
What do you think is the most pressing issue facing your constituents and how do you plan on addressing it?
The number one priority of anyone the State’s Attorney’s office serves is safety of the community. To reverse the disastrous policies in place, there must be a laser focus on the following:
1. Target gangs, guns, and drugs: It is our mission to free neighborhoods from their grip.
2. Enforce the criminal statutes, as written, not with political agendas.
3. Vigorously pursue criminal cases to their resolution.
4. Where convictions occur, recommend sentences which consider the defendant’s past and present harm caused.
5. Educate and connect with the community by sending Assistant State’s Attorneys throughout Cook County to visit schools, beginning with grade schools.
6. Closely monitor defendants who are awaiting trial while on bond or electronic monitoring to ensure their compliance with bond conditions. Where appropriate, increase those conditions if violations occur.
7. Act consistently with the State’s Attorney Oath of Office without apology.
