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Chicago Justice PodcastAuthor: Tracy Siska
The Chicago Justice Podcast takes apart the stories were told about crime and public safety. It doesnt sanitize the truth about crime and justiceit interrogates it. We dig into the data, the policies, and the power structures that shape who gets punished, who gets protected, and who gets ignored. Some conversations are uncomfortable. Others are infuriating. All of them are necessary. Through data-driven analysis and hard, unfiltered conversations with researchers, reform advocates, and people challenging the system from the inside, each episode dismantles the myths that dominate public debate. From racial bias and police violence to surveillance, incarceration, and policy failures that devastate communities, we reveal how justice actually worksand who it really serves. If youre willing to question what youve been told, confront whats broken, and wrestle with what real accountability and safety could actually look like, this podcast is for you. Language: en-us Genres: Business, News, Non-Profit, Politics Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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The Conviction Integrity Unit Under Eileen O'Neill Burke: A New Direction, Fewer Exonerations?
Monday, 31 August, 2026
Send us Fan MailThis week on the Chicago Justice Podcast, we sit down with Injustice Watch Senior Reporter Dan Hinkel to examine the changing role of the Cook County State's Attorney's Office Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU) under State's Attorney Eileen O'Neill Burke.Cook County has recorded more exonerations than any county in the United States, a reflection of decades of police misconduct, coerced confessions, official corruption, and other systemic failures that have led to approximately 440 wrongful convictions being overturned. Yet despite that history, the CIU's approach to reviewing innocence claims appears to be shifting.Hinkel discusses how O'Neill Burke has signaled that convictions should only be overturned when there is definitive evidence proving innocence, such as DNA evidence. Critics argue that standard ignores the reality that DNA evidence is rarely available in the types of cases that typically reach conviction review units and could significantly limit future exonerations.We also explore the philosophy behind Conviction Integrity Units, whether prosecutors can objectively review convictions obtained by their own offices, the role of outside experts in innocence investigations, Kim Foxx's record on exonerations, and O'Neill Burke's history handling wrongful conviction cases.If Cook County's Conviction Integrity Unit is changing course, what does that mean for people seeking to prove their innocence?Listen as Dan Hinkel helps unpack one of the most important criminal justice debates facing Cook County today.Guest: Dan Hinkel, Senior Reporter, Injustice WatchTopics Covered:Cook County's history of wrongful convictions and exonerationsThe Conviction Integrity Unit under Eileen O'Neill BurkeWhether DNA should be required to overturn convictionsConflicts of interest within conviction review unitsKim Foxx's record on exonerationsCertificates of InnocenceThe future of innocence claims in Cook County🎧 Subscribe to the Chicago Justice Podcast for in-depth conversations on criminal justice, policing, courts, government accountability, and public policy.
