Chicago ICE Abuses Merit Special Prosecutor, Attorneys Say

A coalition including politicians, advocacy organizations, and religious leaders wants a special prosecutor to investigate alleged crimes by federal immigration agents in the Chicago area.

In a petition filed Thursday in the Circuit Court of Cook County, the coalition asked a judge to appoint a special prosecutor because, they say, State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke (D) hasn’t adequately pursued charges related to violent acts committed by the agents who swarmed Chicago last year during “Operation Midway Blitz.”

“The State’s Attorney’s inaction in the face of clear, premeditated crimes abandons her duties to the People of Cook County, which creates an actual conflict of interest under law,” the petition says.

Additionally, the petition states, local prosecutors collaborate with federal law enforcement agencies, and Burke “also faces unprecedented external political pressure from high-level federal officials who have and continue to retaliate against local prosecutorial authorities who attempt to hold federal officials accountable.”

Loevy & Loevy, a prolific Chicago civil-rights firm, announced their intent to file the petition earlier this week. In response, Burke sent a statement saying her office would “strenuously oppose” the effort, saying it “ultimately hampers my office’s ability to hold ICE agents accountable.”

Agents’ actions were “thuggish and inappropriate,” Burke’s statement said, hence her office’s recently implemented guidelines for potentially prosecuting agents. She also said her office doesn’t have statutory authority to lead investigations into criminal conduct.

“My office’s goal is not to merely charge, but to successfully prosecute and convict criminal ICE agents,” the statement says. “The issues at hand are difficult due to the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution and challenges in acquiring evidence from federal law enforcement under this current administration.”

A Burke spokesperson said Thursday that local law enforcement hadn’t presented their office with any potential cases involving agents’ on-duty conduct.

Loevy attorney Steve Art said at a news conference Thursday that “folks are tired of elected officials and leaders saying ‘there’s obstacles,’ saying ‘we can’t do this.’”

“The problem that we have is that nobody is talking about taking action,” he said. “Nobody is talking about the obvious misconduct that happened, and bringing prosecutions based on that obvious misconduct.”

Under Illinois law, an interested party can allege that a county’s top prosecutor has a conflict of interest, is sick, or is otherwise unable to fulfill their obligations. If a judge agrees, they can appoint a special prosecutor in the matter. The judge can name a prosecutor from a different Illinois jurisdiction or, if none are “able and willing,” appoint a private attorney.

There’s a lengthy history of naming special prosecutors in high-profile Cook County matters, including in cases alleging police misconduct.

Midway Blitz

Among the nearly 250 signatories to Thursday’s petition are US Reps. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia (D) and Delia Ramirez (D), as well as multiple state legislators and Chicago city council members. Legal groups including the Chicago Council of Lawyers, the Legal Aid Society, and the Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois also signed on. So did retired federal judge Ruben Castillo, who formerly sat in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Locals for unions representing some Chicago journalists signed on, as did more than 20 religious leaders.

One of the petitioners, Illinois state Rep. Lilian Jimenez (D), told reporters Thursday it was “unacceptable” that Burke hasn’t “made an impactful statement to ensure that our communities feel safe and are safe.”

“I ask you, if this was happening to anyone else, would our state’s attorney be silent?” she said, recalling that just that morning she had awoken to texts saying someone had been abducted across the street from her son’s school.

Last year, immigration agents flooded Chicago neighborhoods and suburbs, repeatedly deploying tear gas and pepper balls against protesters as well as neighbors who gathered in ad hoc demonstrations.

A federal agent shot and killed Silverio Villegas González in a Chicago suburb in September, and a Border Patrol officer in October shot Chicago woman Marimar Martinez multiple times. Martinez’s attorneys have announced plans to sue.

Loevy & Loevy and First Defense Legal Aid, which represent petitioners, also were among the firms representing plaintiffs in a federal civil case alleging widespread and unjustified use of force against protesters, journalists, and clergy.

The civil plaintiffs won a preliminary injunction imposing guidelines on federal agents, but a panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit paused it, saying it was overbroad and constitutionally questionable. The plaintiffs moved to dismiss their own case not long afterward.

But that case brought to light a slew of evidence, including videos, depositions, and witness testimony, about agents’ actions during the operation, and Thursday’s petition asserts “ample evidence” of agents’ “criminal conduct.”

Sheryl Weikal of McHenry, Ill. also represents Thursday’s petitioners.

The case is In re Appointment of a Special Prosecutor, Ill. Cir. Ct., docket number unavailable, petition filed 3/12/26.