Judge Set To Rule On Special Prosecutor Demand For Operation Midway Blitz Investigation

A Cook County judge will decide by May 11 whether to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate alleged crimes committed by federal immigration agents during Operation Midway Blitz, according to court records.

Cook County Circuit Judge Erica Reddick will hear arguments on Friday and make a ruling by May 11 on a petition filed by a coalition of more than 200 elected officials, community members, clergy and attorneys. The coalition includes the Chicago News Guild, which represents journalists at the Chicago Sun-Times. The effort is led in court by the Loevy and Loevy law firm.

The petition argues that Cook County State's Attorney Eileen O'Neill Burke has abdicated her duty by refusing to investigate alleged wrongdoing by federal agents during last fall's mass deportation campaign.

Meg Gould, an attorney with Loevy and Loevy, argued in court that O'Neill Burke faces conflicts that prevent her from doing her job for Cook County residents.

"The state's attorney has an alliance with federal law enforcement that prevents her from taking action against the federal agents alleged to have committed crimes during Operation Midway Blitz," Gould told the judge.

The coalition points to two specific shootings by federal agents that allegedly went unexamined. Silverio Villegas Gonzalez was fatally shot on September 12 by a federal agent in suburban Franklin Park. Marimar Martinez was shot on October 4 in Chicago's Brighton Park neighborhood.

Gould said the agents also allegedly committed aggravated batteries, assaults, kidnapping, conspiracy and perjury.

"These are not just brutal acts," Gould said. "They are crimes."

The petitioners filed Freedom of Information Act requests indicating no immigration agent-related complaints have been forwarded from the Chicago Police Department to the state's attorney's office for investigation.

In court, Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Yvette Loizon argued the petitioners' arguments fall short of the legal standard for granting the extraordinary request.

"Judge, what we have here is a group of influential political leaders, community members from a cross-section of our city who are outraged. And they should be; we're outraged," Loizon said. "But that outrage doesn't translate to what the law requires to appoint a special prosecutor."

Loizon pointed to February guidelines the state's attorney published for handling future investigations of federal agents.

"The state's attorney made it clear in her protocol, and we're making it clear here today, that if ICE agents get investigated ... we want to do it right," Loizon said.

Steve Art, an attorney with Loevy and Loevy, responded to the state's attorney's claim that charges would be dismissed before trial.

"For any of those things to happen, however, we need to get to the starting line," Art said. "And the starting line is somebody who will not prosecute no matter what, but somebody who will look at the evidence and exercise some kind of prosecutorial power to say there needs to be accountability and justice in this case."

A key piece of evidence cited by the coalition is an August 11 email from O'Neill Burke's office. The email, sent by spokesman Matt McGrath, declined a request to sign on to a letter condemning President Donald Trump's threat to deploy National Guard troops to Chicago.

"We obviously share concerns about Trump's actions, rhetoric and bluster," McGrath wrote. "At the same time the state's attorney's top priority remains combating illegal guns, and to continue doing that effectively we need to maintain our excellent working relationships with the local ATF and other federal partners. So we will not be able to sign on."

Operation Midway Blitz began four weeks after the email. Trump eventually followed through on his threat, but mobilization of guardsmen was blocked by a federal judge.

Locke Bowman, another attorney with Loevy and Loevy, said the email demonstrates O'Neill Burke has a conflict of interest.

"If she was unwilling to criticize the invasion of Cook County as it was about to happen, what confidence can the citizens of Cook County have that now — in the aftermath, when violence has been perpetrated, when crimes have been committed — that she will be the person to step up and investigate those who have committed crimes?" Bowman told the judge. "I submit that the answer is no confidence at all."

O'Neill Burke's office disputed these claims in a written statement.

"The petition seeking a special prosecutor is frivolous, contains baseless allegations and gross misrepresentations of the law, and will make it more difficult for the Cook County state's attorney's office to successfully do its job protecting the public," the statement said.

The state's attorney's office has maintained it has limited ability to open investigations without a request from law enforcement. It has also pointed to a 2017 Illinois Supreme Court ruling that limits a state's attorney's duty to investigate to circumstances where other law enforcement agencies inadequately deal with an investigation.

The coalition compared its case to the appointment of a special prosecutor in the Laquan McDonald case, which eventually led to murder charges against Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke.

Joe McMahon, the special prosecutor appointed in the McDonald case who secured Van Dyke's conviction, said if a new prosecutor is appointed in this case, it amounts to a ruling that the elected state's attorney cannot be fair.

"It's a high standard and I'm certain it's one that this judge is looking at very carefully and very thoroughly," McMahon said.

The Trump administration's Operation Midway Blitz began in September 2025. Thousands of federal agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection flooded Chicago in tactical gear. Federal judge April Perry issued a permanent injunction against the immigration agents, prohibiting them from using tear gas and other riot control weapons.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed a law in December that banned civil immigration arrests at courthouses and allows anyone falsely arrested around a court to sue for up to $10,000 in damages.

The law also set up new guidelines and protections for residents at hospitals, universities and daycares, and allows people to file civil lawsuits against law enforcement officers who violate Illinois or U.S. constitutional rights.