FTP - Chicago

Take action now! Tell Kim Foxx to exonerate community members targeted by her war on drugs!

Background:
Since April 1st, 2021, CPD has been arresting community members off the CTA’s Howard Red Line stop as a part of their Operation: End of the Line. CPD has been surveilling and arresting our neighbors due to an alleged rise in crime in this area of Rogers Park. They have been charging Howard residents with felony drug charges, and many have been sentenced to time in prison or put on parole.
Kim Foxx, the State’s Attorney for Cook County, was elected in 2016 on a platform which promised to “prioritize resources away from low-level offenses to focus on violent crime.” At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kim Foxx promised to refuse to prosecute low-level drug offenses. This was a lie. Our neighbors have been arrested and charged, some for transactions that were proven to have involved less than $50. Kim Foxx’s Assistant State’s Attorneys have been at every court date for our neighbors, despite the promises Kim Foxx made to her constituents.
We are demanding that Kim Foxx drop all the charges related to the Operation End of the Line and uphold her promise not to prosecute low level charges. We believe that this Operation is a continuation of the racist war on drugs, where predominantly Black men are targeted by the state and have their lives turned upside down when they are sent to prison or put on parole. We believe that drug use is a public health crisis, and that criminalizing poverty and drug use is one way that the State maintains a monopoly on violence. We believe in a harm reduction model, which uses evidence-based, life-saving approaches to drug use that sustainably diminish overdose, disease transmission, and other drug-related dangers. This practice builds trust between individuals and with organizations, all while encouraging collective care. Developing trust opens opportunities to use drugs more safely, and fosters new connections built around healthcare. Harm reduction must be implemented by the community, for the community.
We have attempted many times throughout the past year to contact Kim Foxx. We have called and emailed her, we have gone to her office, and we have attempted to speak with her Assistant State’s Attorneys at court. Kim Foxx has not responded to us.
We are hoping you will use the below email script to send an email to Kim Foxx’s office to demand her to drop these charges and uphold the promises which she was elected on.

Kim Foxx’s email: [email protected]

Email Script:
Dear Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx,
I am reaching out in support of community members of Rogers Park, who demand that your office overturn sentencing and drop any remaining charges that resulted from the Chicago Police Department’s “Operation: End of the Line.” Despite your promise to refuse to prosecute low-level drug offenses during the COVID-19 pandemic, assistant state’s attorneys have pursued many of these charges, resulting in our neighbors being put in jail and on probation.
Please respond to [email protected] to further discuss rectifying this racist operation.
We look forward to hearing from you,
YOUR NAME