Chicago prosecutor to start erasing pot convictions soon
AP Photo/M. Spencer Green, File
In this Dec. 2, 2015, file photo, Kim Foxx, then a candidate for Cook County state’s attorney, speaks at a news conference in Chicago. Foxx, now the Cook County State’s Attorney, says she hopes to begin expunging minor cannabis convictions in the coming months but acknowledges it won’t be easy to implement her plan and that her office is still figuring out its scope. Foxx told the Chicago Sun-Times last week that she estimates that thousands of misdemeanor drug convictions could be wiped out. Foxx says her office is also reviewing its policy toward prosecuting those detained for selling marijuana.
A top Chicago prosecutor says she hopes to begin expunging minor cannabis convictions in the coming months but acknowledges it won’t be easy to implement her plan and that her office is still figuring out its scope.
Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx told the Chicago Sun-Times last week that she wants to enlist the help of San Francisco-based nonprofit, Code For America, which has already aided with expunging records in California. She estimates that thousands of misdemeanor drug convictions could be wiped out.
Foxx says her office is also reviewing its policy toward prosecuting those detained for selling marijuana. She has recently advocated publicly for legalizing recreational marijuana in Illinois.
Her comments come amid backlash over her office’s decision to drop charges against “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett.
