REDUCING ILLINOIS JAIL AND PRISON POPULATION

Illinois has a problem with mass incarceration. Among other indicators, our state prison system was designed to house approximately 32,000 individuals, but currently houses nearly 40,000 people - many of whom are serving long sentences. Each year, more people enter our prisons.

QUESTION 1:

Do you believe that Cook County and the State of Illinois should reduce their current incarceration rates? If yes, please describe what specific policies you will pursue if elected to reduce the number of people incarcerated in prisons and jails.

FIORETTI: 
Yes

Legalizing marijuana is the policy that will do the most to reduce the prison population. For too long, the war on drugs unfairly targeted minority neighborhoods and citizens in greater proportion than society as a whole.


PROSECUTORIAL DISCRETION

The Cook County State's Attorney's office has been criticized in the past for overcharging defendants in order to pressure them to accept guilty pleas instead of going to trial.

QUESTION 2:

Will you commit to only charging crimes that the evidence clearly supports (i.e., not overcharging). If yes, please share what steps, if any, you would take to ensure that cases are appropriately charged?

FIORETTI: 
Yes

I will follow the law. When crimes are committed, they will be charged according to the law. It will be the policy of my office from day one to charge defendants with the crimes they are accused of committing.


In Cook County, all drug cases are directly filed by police officers without any oversight or review of the charges by the State's Attorney's office.

QUESTION 3: 

If you are elected, will you end the practice of allowing the police to directly file charges, and require all charges to be reviewed by a prosecutor before filing?

FIORETTI: 
No
The police need authority to charge defendants in the field when they believe obvious crimes have been committed. If they file charges incorrectly, there are remedies to make it right.

BOND REFORM

Although people charged with crimes are supposed to be considered innocent until proven guilty, many spend months and even years incarcerated pretrial simply because they cannot afford to pay a monetary bond.

QUESTION 4: 

Do you support ending the courts' reliance upon cash bail to determine whether a defendant should be jailed while they await trial, and instead utilizing an individualized showing of substantial flight risk or danger to other persons?

FIORETTI: 
No
I do not support entirely ending reliance on cash bail. For low level defendants who pose no risk to society or flight risk, yes. For dangerous criminals who pose a danger to society (or victims and witnesses) or are a flight risk, cash bail is still a valuable tool.

ALTERNATIVES TO INCARCERATION: SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND MENTAL HEALTH

People often wind up in the criminal legal system because they are struggling with substance use disorders and mental health issues.

QUESTION 5: 

Is it appropriate for prosecutors, police, and the courts to play a role in helping people with substance use disorders and mental health issues access evidence-based care provided by qualified health care professionals?

FIORETTI: 
Yes

I’ve long been a proponent of keeping those with mental health issues out of the system to the degree possible. I was a loud opponent of the City of Chicago closing its mental health clinics.


CONDITIONS OF RELEASE AND PROBATION

Conditions of release often include prohibitions that are difficult to avoid, such as curfew violations or associating with groups of people from shared communities.

QUESTION 6: 

Would you encourage police departments in Cook County to limit arrests for violations of release conditions that do not harm or pose a risk of harm to others?

FIORETTI: 
No

It has to be done on a case by case basis. This is too complex to be decided by a sweeping generalization of policy. Conditions of being out of jail awaiting trial must mean something or why impose them?


ADDRESSING RACIAL DISPARITIES

Racial disparities traditionally mark our criminal legal system. People of color are overrepresented in contacts with the police (traffic and pedestrian stops), prosecutions and incarceration.

QUESTION 7: 

Do you believe that the State's Attorney's Office has a duty to reduce racial disparities in the criminal legal system?

FIORETTI: 
Yes

The State’s Attorney has a duty to make sure every resident of Cook County is treated equally under the law, regardless of race, religion, what zip code they are from, or who they love. It is how I conducted myself as Alderman in the City Council and it is how I will conduct myself as State’s Attorney.


QUESTION 8: 

Will you commit to tracking and working to eliminate racial disparities in decisions made by the State's Attorney's office, such as disparities in charging decisions, bail recommendations, plea bargains, and sentencing recommendations? If you answered yes, please include any specific policies and practices you will implement to reduce racial disparities.

FIORETTI: 
Yes

There will be no racial disparities in my Administration. Everyone will be treated equally under the law.


CRIMINALIZATION OF POVERTY

Low-income people are regularly directed into the criminal legal system and face barriers to getting out due to their limited financial circumstances. A combination of high fines and fees for minor traffic tickets, civil offenses, and even misdemeanor crimes result in jail time and punitive collection practices for those unable to pay.

QUESTION 9: 

Do you agree that high fines, fees and financial assessments in the criminal and traffic court system have contributed to the "criminalization of poverty" where poor people face harsheroutcomes for the same conduct as others due to their poverty? If you answered yes, please describe the specific actions you will take as State's Attorney to mitigate the harm that fines, fees, and other financial assessments imposed by criminal and traffic courts inflict upon people living in poverty.

FIORETTI: 
Yes

Some steps have already been taken by the City of Chicago and State of Illinois such as not suspending drivers’ licenses for not being able to pay parking tickets and camera tickets in a timely manner. It should be a guiding principle that people should not be in jail because they are poor and it will be when I am State’s Attorney.


POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY

In recent years, public attention has focused on the need to enhance police accountability tothe public. Residents from all neighborhoods across Cook County want policing that reflects the needs and values of their community and respects all residents.

QUESTION 10: 

Would you ask the Attorney General to appoint an independent prosecutor in all officerinvolved shootings?

FIORETTI: 
No

No. I fail to see the rationale for an independent prosecutor for “all” officer involved shootings. While some wish to make it so, police officers are not the enemy. Police officer involved shootings will be handled in my Administration as every other case-according to the facts and the law. Nothing else.


QUESTION 11: 

What standards would your office use to determine when to prosecute a police officer who engages in misconduct?

FIORETTI: 

I fail to see the rationale for an independent prosecutor for “all” officer involved shootings. While some wish to make it so, police officers are not the enemy. Police officer involved shootings will be handled in my Administration as every other case-according to the facts and the law. Nothing else.


The Supreme Court has ruled that criminal defendants should receive all relevant information that may impact the credibility of a witness. A recent DOJ investigation of the Chicago Police Department found that there is currently no system to ensure that information about CPD officers - such as disciplinary actions or evidence of having provided false reports in the past - is disclosed to the State's Attorney's Office and criminal defendants as required.

QUESTION 12: 

Would you take affirmative steps to investigate the credibility of CPD officers when considering them as witnesses for prosecutions? If you answered yes, please describe what systems will you put in place to ensure that the State's Attorney's Office is consistently providing defendants with this constitutionally mandated information?

FIORETTI: 
Yes

I would do this as allowed by law. Courts have in some cases upheld that certain information is protected by union contracts, and of course police officers are citizens also and also have constitutional rights which must be respected.


IMMIGRATION

Cook County proudly proclaims itself to be a welcoming community for immigrants and asylum seekers. Interactions with the criminal legal system can adversely impact an individual's immigration status.

QUESTION 13: 

Do you think prosecutors should consider the immigration-related consequences of prosecutorial decisions at all stages of a case and reach immigration-safe dispositions  for noncitizens whenever possible? If yes, please explain what steps you will take to minimize the collateral immigration consequences to non-citizens in the criminal legal system?

FIORETTI: 
No

This, too, must be a case by case basis. Ideology will not and can not get in the way of the safety of Cook County residents. I do not support Cook County law enforcement becoming ICE agents whose job is to support federal immigration laws. If, however, a non-citizen poses a danger to residents of Cook County, I will do what I can to make the residents safe, as I believe my oath of office requires me to do. I believe the residents of Cook County would expect nothing less.


TRANSPARENCY

Transparency in public office is critical to build trust and confidence between residents and their government. Given the crucial role of the States Attorney's Office, providing the public with a clear understanding of how government authority is used takes on heightened importance.

QUESTION 14: 

Would transparency be an important value for your office? 

FIORETTI: 
Yes

In sharp contrast to the current Administration, I would be transparent in all aspects of my office, not only where it makes the office look good. The Jussie Smollett case is the primary example but not the only one. The State’s Attorney lied about her recusal, and secretly tried to treat a celebrity differently than others.


QUESTION 15: 

Will you commit to publicly posting statistical information on charging decisions, convictions, plea bargains, declinations, diversion program placements, and sentences -disaggregated by race and gender?

FIORETTI: 
Yes

They already are public information. I would continue that practice.


QUESTION 16: 

If the State's Attorney's office is not already collecting the data mentioned above, will you pledge to create a plan for collecting and publicizing that data?

FIORETTI: 
Yes

As State’s Attorney I would do everything in my power to correct the racial disparities of the past.


CIVIL LIBERTIES POLICY LIGHTNING ROUND

Do you commit to using your platform as Cook County State's Attorney to support state legislation that would reform the criminal legal system?'
Yes
W o u Id you support legislation that reclassifies the penalty for small-scale drug
possession from a felony to a misdemeanor?
Yes
Illinois' dollar-value thresh.old for prosecuting retail theft as a felony is one of the lowest of any state, and was last updated ten years ago. Would you support leitislation increasing the threshold to a level similar to surrounding states? 
No
Would you support efforts to repeal mandatory minimums and mandatory sentencing enhancements that limit judges' discretion?
No
Would you maximize the use of restorative justice and pre-adjudication diversion programs to keep young people out of the criminal legal system whenever possible?
Yes
Will you commit to charging the lowest level crime that still promotes public safety?
Yes
Would you commit to diverting people with substance abuse and mental health disorders away from jails when there is a community-based or alternative treatment available that does not involve incarceration?
Yes
Do you commit to working to expand the treatment programs available for people with substance abuse and mental health issues, including asking legislators for appropriations and working with communities?
Yes
Do you commit to recommending that all fees be waived for people sentenced for criminal, traffic, or civil offenses who cannot afford to pay?
No
Do you commit to recommending that any fines imposed as a penalty for a civil, traffic, or criminal offense be set at an amount that is attainable in light of an individual's financial circumstances?
Yes

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