Cook County groups ask commissioners to freeze sheriff and state's attorney budgets

A coalition of 57 community, faith, policy, and social service organizations is asking the Cook County Board of Commissioners to freeze spending for the Cook County Sheriff's Office and the Cook County State's Attorney's Office as commissioners debate the county's 2026 budget.

The groups say the freeze is needed to protect community violence intervention, crisis response, domestic violence services, housing, infrastructure, and guaranteed income programs amid a projected $550 million budget shortfall for fiscal year 2027. They also want the county board to increase funding for the Cook County Public Defender's Office and to pursue state funding for pretrial support services.

In a letter sent on September 17, members of the Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice argued that budgets for Sheriff Tom Dart and State's Attorney Eileen O'Neill Burke have continued to grow even as reported crime has fallen and the Cook County jail population has declined over the past decade. The coalition cited the projected shortfall and ongoing cuts to federal social safety net programs as reasons to hold law enforcement spending in place.

"It is more important than ever that Cook County freeze law enforcement spending to ensure that we can protect essential health and human services that result in significantly better public safety outcomes while operating with compassion and care for our communities," the Cook County members of the Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice wrote in the letter. "It is critical that the County continues to prioritize community-based supports and services that address the root causes of crime."

The coalition includes the Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts, Chicago Democratic Socialists of America, Illinois National Organization for Women, Jewish Council on Urban Affairs, and Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle's office declined to comment on the request. Spokesperson Hannah Fierle said Preckwinkle will provide more details in her executive budget recommendation, scheduled for delivery on October 8.

Between 2023 and 2026, Cook County directed $7 million in federal pandemic relief money toward programs including housing assistance and legal aid for domestic violence survivors. That funding expires this year, and the coalition wrote that the county must continue paying for those services beyond what it described as one-time revenue.

The letter also pointed to federal funding cuts under President Donald Trump that have reduced support for community safety programs. The groups asked the county to continue and expand investment in violence interruption, youth jobs and arts programming, and reentry services.

"At a time when federal cuts are threatening the very programs that make communities safer," the coalition wrote, "Cook County must continue and expand investments . . . so that residents have access to care, stability, and crisis response without deeper reliance on incarceration."

The organizations are also pressing for more money for the Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender. They said new requirements under the Pretrial Fairness Act, along with a rise in detention requests since Burke took office in 2024, have significantly increased the public defender's workload.

Preckwinkle's executive budget recommendation is due October 8. Commissioners are then expected to review the proposal and hold further budget discussions before final approval.