Chicago-area Democratic leaders have thrown their support behind a challenger to embattled Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez, who has been facing heavy criticism over her office's handling of alleged police misconduct cases.
The Cook County Democratic Party initially decided to stay neutral in the March primary, but decided to revisit the decision about whether to endorse any of the three candidates.
During a meeting that Alvarez didn't attend, her two challengers for the Democratic nomination made their pleas to party leaders. After less than a half-hour of deliberating in private, the committeemen announced they were backing Kim Foxx, a former chief aide to the county board president.
Alvarez has been facing calls to resign since waiting a year to charge a white Chicago police officer with murder after he shot a black teenager 16 times in 2014.
