The Fight

Since April 2026, federal immigration agents have conducted civil immigration arrests at Cook County courthouses at least seven times — including at the Domestic Violence Courthouse — in apparent violation of Illinois law banning such arrests. The confrontation has triggered a petition to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate and potentially charge federal agents for state law violations, a conflict-of-interest scandal involving the Cook County State’s Attorney, and a broader statewide accountability investigation.

Illinois passed the Way Forward Act (2021), which bars local law enforcement from honoring ICE civil detainers and limits cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. Courthouse arrest protections are part of this legislative framework. ICE’s continued courthouse arrests represent a direct challenge to Illinois sovereignty over its own judicial spaces.

Timeline

• 2025-Fall: Operation Midway Blitz — Trump administration’s sweeping Chicago-area immigration enforcement campaign — begins, generating dozens of complaints about racial profiling, warrantless stops, and illegal detention.
• 2026-April: ICE makes arrests at Cook County courthouses, including at the Domestic Violence Courthouse. By late April, at least seven courthouse-area ICE encounters are documented, three resulting in arrests. Advocates warn the pattern is deterring domestic violence victims from seeking court protection.
• 2026-04-06: Elected officials and advocates hold press conference warning of ICE targeting the Domestic Violence Courthouse — the fifth documented courthouse incident in approximately one month.
• 2026-04-21: Chicago Sun-Times publishes emails showing State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke declined to publicly denounce the Trump administration during the lead-up to Operation Midway Blitz because she wanted to “maintain” ties with federal law enforcement — revealing a conflict of interest at the center of the special prosecutor petition.
• 2026-04-24: Sun-Times reports a ruling on the special prosecutor petition is expected within weeks.
• 2026-04-30: Illinois Accountability Commission releases final report detailing federal agents’ “illegal and violent conduct” during Operation Midway Blitz.
• 2026-05-07: Federal immigration agents reportedly spotted at four Cook County courthouses in a single day — the downtown Domestic Violence Courthouse plus courts at 111th Street, Grand and Central, and Maywood — continuing to defy Chief Judge Evans’s October 2025 courthouse-arrest ban.
• 2026-05-11: Judge Reddick DELAYS her scheduled special-prosecutor ruling to review new developments, including the April 30 Accountability Commission report; sets new ruling date of May 21 after a Friday filing deadline for petitioner Locke Bowman.
• 2026-05-21: Judge Reddick rejects the special-prosecutor petition. She dismisses the conflict-of-interest argument against O’Neill Burke and rules the State’s Attorney’s office remains the appropriate prosecuting authority. Petitioners’ attorney Locke Bowman says the coalition will instead pressure local police agencies (including CPD) to investigate federal agents and refer charges — “We will be knocking on their doors.” An Illinois State Police probe of a fatal ICE shooting in Franklin Park is cited as an example already underway.

The Special Prosecutor Fight — REJECTED (May 21, 2026)

A petition before Cook County Circuit Judge Erica Reddick asked the court to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate and charge federal agents for alleged criminal conduct during Operation Midway Blitz — including courthouse arrests, warrantless detentions, and civil rights violations.

The petition gained urgency when the O’Neill Burke emails revealed that the sitting State’s Attorney was diplomatically deferential to federal authorities during the very enforcement campaign her office would now be expected to prosecute. Petitioners argued this conflict of interest made independent appointment of a special prosecutor necessary.

On May 21, 2026, Judge Reddick rejected the petition. She dismissed the arguments of the broad coalition — elected officials, clergy, journalists, and attorneys — and found that O’Neill Burke’s office remains the appropriate entity to handle any prosecutions. Petitioners’ lead attorney Locke Bowman said the coalition would now pursue alternative avenues: pressuring local law-enforcement agencies, including the Chicago Police Department, to investigate federal agents’ alleged misconduct and refer cases for charging. He pointed to an existing Illinois State Police investigation into a fatal ICE shooting in Franklin Park as a model.

Cook County State’s Attorney O’Neill Burke had earlier announced a protocol to criminally charge ICE agents who break state law (Feb 19, 2026) — a response critics argue came late and only under political pressure. With the special prosecutor denied, that protocol — and her willingness to use it — is now the only formal local-prosecution channel for ICE misconduct.

June 2, 2026 update: No change to the special-prosecutor fight itself in the late-May/early-June window (the May 21 rejection stands). The most consequential local accountability development was on the federal prosecution side: on the same day (May 21), U.S. District Judge April Perry dismissed the related Broadview 6 case over gross grand jury misconduct, the lead AUSA was fired (May 29), and U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros ordered sweeping grand jury reforms (May 27). This federal-prosecution collapse strengthens the coalition’s broader narrative of federal-agent misconduct during Midway Blitz. See il-cook-broadview-six-federal-prosecution.

State Legal Framework

Illinois passed multiple laws creating the framework being tested:

• Way Forward Act (2021): Bars local law enforcement from honoring ICE civil detainers; limits cooperation with federal enforcement
• Courthouse civil immigration arrest prohibition: Part of a state policy that courthouses are protected spaces — a “safe access” principle intended to ensure crime victims and witnesses can access the courts without fear of immigration enforcement
• HB 5024 (pending Senate): Would ban new federal detention facilities within 1,500 feet of homes, schools, churches, parks, and cemeteries — a next-layer response to Broadview

Key Actors

• Judge Erica Reddick: Cook County Circuit Court; will rule May 11 on special prosecutor petition
• Eileen O’Neill Burke: Cook County State’s Attorney; conflict-of-interest emails compromised her office’s position
• IL AG Kwame Raoul: Involved in broader state enforcement framework and oversight litigation
• ICE Chicago Field Office: Conducting courthouse arrests in apparent defiance of state law
• Illinois Accountability Commission: Released final report April 30 documenting illegal federal conduct during Midway Blitz

Sources

• IPM Newsroom: Legal battle intensifies over appointing special prosecutor for Operation Midway Blitz abuses
• Chicago Sun-Times: O’Neill Burke wanted to ‘maintain’ ties with feds, emails show (April 21, 2026)
• Chicago Sun-Times: Ruling on special prosecutor expected in coming weeks (April 24, 2026)
• WJBC: Officials warn ICE targeting Cook County domestic violence courthouse (April 6, 2026)
• Pantagraph: Mid-May ruling set for special prosecutor demand
• WTTW: Illinois Commission Details Federal Agents’ Illegal Conduct in Final Report on Operation Midway Blitz (April 30, 2026)
• Chicago Sun-Times: Cook County judge rejects push to appoint special prosecutor (May 21, 2026)
• Block Club Chicago: Court delays special prosecutor ruling (May 11, 2026)
• NPR Illinois: Judge delays decision on special prosecutor to review new developments (May 11, 2026)
• WTTW: Federal Immigration Agents Reportedly Spotted at 4 Cook County Courthouses Thursday (May 7, 2026)