A new initiative is being tested in the Seventh District—which covers Englewood and other nearby neighborhoods—that allows police to file felony gun possession charges without approval from a prosecutor. In the Feb. 19 case, the CPD directly filed charges for aggravated unlawful possession of a weapon against the 40-year old.

The program was designed jointly by the CPD and by the county prosecutor’s office, which is headed since early December by State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke. It launched on Jan. 1, according to a CPD directive obtained by Bolts through a Freedom of Information Act request.

In the two months since the initiative launched, the CPD has used it to file at least 22 felony cases without review, the state’s attorney’s office told Bolts. While the pilot only exists in one of Chicago’s 25 police districts so far, officials plan to review the pilot every three months and could expand it city- or county-wide.

The move is one of the clearest signs yet that O’Neill Burke, who took office in December, is looking to adopt a more trusting attitude toward police than her more progressive predecessor Kim Foxx.

Archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20250317112457/https://boltsmag.org/cook-county-initiative-to-bypass-felony-review-chicago/