Now to a brand is Freeman with an elected official about to leave office Prentice.

After 8 years in office.

Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx is passing the torch.

FOX was among a cadre of so-called progressive prosecutors to take office around the country.

>> Promising to reshape the nation's criminal justice system.

After FOX announced she would not seek a 3rd term.

Voters chose retired Judge Eileen O'Neill Burke to take over the office, saying that take a tougher on prop on crime approach.

Joining us is Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx can FOX.

Welcome back.

Thank you, Brent.

It's good to me that so when you look back on these last 8 years, how do you see that time?

How is the Kim Foxx of today?

Different from the one who took office?

FOX of 8 years ago was wildly optimistic about the opportunity to transform our criminal justice system.

>> And the older wiser Kim Foxx, really proud of the work that we've done over the course of the last 8 years.

I didn't anticipate it will be as rocky ride as it was.

But I'm incredibly proud of what we've done you are, of course, a vocal supporter of eliminating cash bail, which has been in effect for over a year now under the Safety Act.

What are your thoughts on how it's not only impacted public safety but also the people who come in contact with the criminal justice system.

And this is historic legislation.

No other state in the country has eliminated cash bail.

>> And a year out a little more than a year out, we've seen that people who are not a threat to public safety are able to go home work, provide for their families and are still showing up to court.

>> And that people who pose a danger are being detained.

And so the impact significant for those individual families and communities where the devastation trying to find cash to secure their freedom is no longer a burden and more importantly, we aren't seen scenarios where people would be willing to plead to anything to get out of jail, to go home.

And as we worked on wrongful convictions, I think people miss there's a connection with the cash bail system where people were languishing in saying and doing whatever they could to get home.

And we've minimize that all the legalization of cannabis in then expunging records of people with minor marijuana convictions in their past is another mission of your tenure.

Of course.

>> I'm just Cook County need to go further with weed equity.

What more do you think can be done?

You know, first of all, the fact that we legalize weed again for state to do it legislatively and the vacating of those convictions.

>> After remind people African-Americans, Latinos were 4 or 5 times more likely to be prosecuted for we cases, then white citizens.

And so from an equity standpoint, legalization and allowing everyone to be treated the same as critically important where we are now is that we don't see those prosecutions for marijuana.

But when you talk about going further, we still have in terms of the business model for people who are benefiting profiting legal marijuana sales are not reflective of the people who are harmed from the prosecutions in the past.

And so I know that there's been work to try to make the business more equitable from a criminal justice standpoint.

I'm proud to say that we are not prosecuting those cases throughout your time in office.

Certainly when you were first elected you along with several other prosecuting attorneys around the country were labeled a so-called sort progressive prosecutors >> but you've also taken some criticism from folks who feel that your office could have been tougher on crime and on prosecutions.

How would you describe your approach to criminal justice?

Our approach was being spied on crime.

I have to remind people that every day when they pick up a newspaper or watch news and they say >> prosecutors have charged her prosecutors got a guilty verdict that's come.

FOX is office.

I tend hear that.

My name is mentioned when there's something negative minutes, Kim Foxx, but every day our prosecutors are putting in the hard work of prosecuting gangs, guns and drugs prosecuting people were committing violent offenses, prosecuting the murderers of Paul Bauer and Ella French and Idea Pendleton and Tyshawn Lee.

Those those cases were happening.

We can do both.

And one of the reasons that we wanted to have data publicly available so that you can compare where we prosecute as many gun cases as my predecessor and the reality was not only were we press can as much but more.

And so I think that was a perception issue because we talk so much about reform.

The people took for granted that the hardworking men and women in states attorney's office prosecuting cases and higher levels than most other prosecutors offices in the country.

>> You've made it a priority for your office to review the integrity of some convictions to determine whether or not those conviction should still stand.

Why did you take that on?

Because I knew that the reality was that these are human endeavors and the criminal justice system is fallible.

>> And as a prosecutor, there's nothing that keeps me up at night.

More than thinking today put someone in prison for a crime.

They didn't commit.

Cook County had a reputation of being the false confession Capital United States.

We had a history.

Wait.

Commander John Birds.

That is everyone is fully aware of and others.

And so I wanted to come in and say this and we owe a responsibility for people who don't trust the justice system to acknowledge when we've gotten things wrong and actively work to make them right as your time comes to an end.

I know that you've been getting a lot of calls and requests from who are either incarcerated or have a prosecution on their record as well as their attorneys for their cases to be reconsidered.

>> How much of that are you able to do before you leave office?

And obviously that time is coming quickly.

It's coming very quickly.

And listen, we appreciate the urgency of the matter for those who believe that they've been wrongfully convicted.

>> But we don't vacate a conviction late last month and a blase manner.

It's It's real effort to review the file.

Talk to witnesses.

Look at history of cases.

Sometimes there, 10, 2030, years old.

And so if those cases had been in the pipeline for some time, it's almost impossible to get to them.

And so it's certainly my hope that my successor, we'll continue to take those calls to have a unit that is aggressively looking at these cases because I believe just scratched the tip of the iceberg.

>> A state's attorney general, Kwame Raoul has launched his own conviction Integrity unit in his office, just announcing that this week.

Do you think something like that is necessary?

A statewide office?

Absolutely.

It's something that I've been calling for for the last couple of years.

>> If we in Cook County have 250 convictions that we vacate it thus far.

I know that the human system that we haven't cook is the same wanting to pay czar Alexander for Champaign County.

I also know that we have a budget and resources which still aren't nearly enough given the volume that those smaller counties don't have.

And so in the interest of justice, I think having a statewide review is important.

And I think it is very important that the attorney general is taking a lead on that.

Then there's the Jussie Smollett case.

how do you look back on Would you have done anything differently and and how do you think that will?

>> Where does that fall into the legacy your legacy of Kim Foxx?

Yeah, I think the media will always connect just the night together.

And listen, I've always said that my biggest regret about that is the light that shone on our office to eclipse the work that they do every single day.

This was a low-level nonviolent offense.

>> And it's still 5 years later being litigated before the Supreme Court.

And while that case was pending, there were people who trying rape cases, murder cases, significant cases.

And so, you know, in the in the history of media attention to one case, I've never seen anything like it.

What I certainly would hope is that we have that same level of scrutiny of what happened with Jesse in the cases of Jimmy Soto who spent 42 years prison for a crime he didn't commit or others or the fact that in that case we have a special prosecutor who was appointed almost within months.

And I think about the catchment case, mother of this man who was killed took years to get justice.

And so I think there is a conversation to be had.

I'm grateful to be a part of the conversation.

Even if the spotlight was high to talk about what is our priorities on justice and in Cook County, where a celebrity accused of a nonviolent offense could garner that much Inc.

But these poor black and brown folks who have been released from prison don't get nearly the attention that they deserve.

You're the first black woman to serve Cook County State's attorney, only black woman to serve as anybody's states attorney in the state of Illinois.

>> What challenges do you face?

What were the hardest parts that you went up against this?

And I think any time you're breaking a glass ceiling and it was indeed a glass ceiling, you get cuts.

And so I have a lot of scout There's a level of scrutiny that is very different when you come into this work as a people don't know what to expect.

And so there are those challenges of having your credibility question, folks undermining your decisions processees being different than what your predecessors had seen.

But I never worried about that.

There was work to be done.

And what I knew that as a black woman doing this work and all of that attention that I would garner that I had to have a level of excellence to deliver.

And it's why smile.

When we talk about we've eliminated cash bail, legalize marijuana.

They could hundreds thousands, hundreds of convictions and have prosecuted people who kill police officers and everyday citizens and proud.

You've said that you experience some some soup threats, though, some very real threats to your yourself or your family.

Absolutely.

I I didn't talk about it in real time because he used to work matters.

But the level of sexualizing, racial aspects that I received, there was a man who, you know, threatened to shoot me in the head and hang me from a tree and and was prosecuted for that.

There was a man who served 18 months in federal prison for threatening a rattle my brain with bullets.

I think we have to talk about that in this air this political climate we're in now feels that anything goes.

Public servants still sign up for that.

A mother of 4 daughters.

And I remember there were nights that I was afraid to walk outside of my home.

And I certainly would hope for my successor that she would would not have to see that as a woman doing this work and that she would have people around her who would make sure that she's safe and protected.

You have been in touch with with your successor, Overcast, giving her advice.

I son certainly I I looked he is well versed in the law.

She is.

>> And significant amount of experience.

It's very different being a lawyer and then be in the top prosecutor.

>> And so certainly, you know, I told everyone around her the county board included to give her grace.

But for her really can engage with the community, says she get from behind the desk, get into community and listen and have the humility to to work together collaboratively and we're out of time.

But everybody's gonna want to know what do next.

This radical thing called rest.

that.

I know.

So I'm gonna model what it looks like to be a leader.

This step