Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx is preparing to drop charges against many of those arrested for violating curfew earlier this month during days of protest and civil unrest, according to a local media report.
How many of these cases will be dismissed or what criteria will need to be met for these cases to be dropped is not known, but internal emails obtained by Fox 32 shed light on the plan.
“Cases are to be nolled (dismissed) where curfew violations or city disorderly conduct was the basis of a stop that led to a felony or misdemeanor case,” First Assistant State’s Attorney Joseph Magats reportedly said in those emails. “(I)f there are misdemeanor disorderlies where the conduct that was disorderly was a curfew violation, those cases are to be dismissed,” the email concluded.
A spokesperson with the state’s attorney office didn’t confirm the veracity of the emails’ content to the Chicago Sun-Times on Monday night, saying the office will “continue to focus our limited resources on addressing violent crime and public safety” and that each of the curfew violations will be viewed on a case-by-case basis.
“The State’s Attorney’s Office will dismiss these matters if there is insufficient evidence to move forward with the prosecution of the case,” the spokesperson said in a statement to the Sun-Times. “The local municipality has the jurisdiction to enforce the city ordinance if they chose.”
Mayor Lori Lightfoot first issued citywide 9 p.m. through 6 a.m. curfew on May 30 after protests turned violent throughout the city and was in effect until June 7.
Lightfoot told Fox 32 she was in discussions with Foxx about what to do with these curfew violation cases but wasn’t clear whether most of these cases would universally be dropped.
“I know that she’s looking at all of these cases. And I think that there will be some news around that announced shortly,” Lightfoot said to Fox 32.
Manny Ramos is a corps member in Report for America, a not-for-profit journalism program that aims to bolster Sun-Times coverage of Chicago’s South and West sides.
