Jon Seidel

Cook County State's Attorney Eileen O'Neill Burke released the following statement on the reported plan to petition for the appointment of a special prosecutor: “The reported plan to petition for a special prosecutor will make it more difficult for the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office to prosecute and win convictions against ICE agents who break the law and secure justice for victims harmed by their conduct. It is also frivolous, contrary to centuries of legal precedent and court rulings, riddled with factual errors, and ultimately hampers my office’s ability to hold ICE agents accountable. The stakes are too high for us to get this wrong, and I will strenuously oppose this petition. We have all been horrified by the thuggish and inappropriate conduct of ICE agents in Chicago, Minnesota and across the country, causing each of us to ask each other: what can be done? That’s why, to meet this unprecedented moment, I directed my office to draft and implement a comprehensive protocol to hold ICE agents accountable within the confines of the law, including a plan to preserve relevant evidence in case a future federal administration decides to pursue criminal charges. Every elected local prosecutor in Illinois and the Attorney General have adopted this protocol. As stated in our protocol, local prosecutors' offices are restricted from serving as primary investigators in criminal cases. The Illinois Supreme Court held in People V. Ringland, 2017 that the State’s Attorney’s ability to investigate is “limited to circumstances where other law enforcement agencies inadequately deal with such investigation or where a law enforcement agency asks the State’s Attorney for assistance.” The CCSAO has no statutory authority to lead investigations into criminal conduct, despite any argument made to the contrary. My office’s goal is not to merely charge, but to successfully prosecute and convict criminal ICE agents. The issues at hand are difficult due to the Supr…

Statement from Cook County State's Attorney Eileen O'Neill Burke:

Chicago law firm leading push to appoint special prosecutor to target ICE, Border Patrol agents The firm, Loevy and Loevy, said 200 individuals and organizations are supporting a petition to appoint an outsider to the office of Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke, who has spent wee...

A high-powered Chicago law firm announced a plan Monday to push for the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate and potentially charge the agents who carried out Operation Midway Blitz.

@sophiesherry.bsky.social reports: chicago.suntimes.com/crime/2026/0...

The law firm that challenged U.S. Border Patrol Cmdr. Greg Bovino in federal court last fall signals a forthcoming bid for a special prosecutor to "investigate crimes committed by federal agents under Operation Midway Blitz."

Press conference Thursday:

Another Midway Blitz defendant in Chicago is opting for trial, a federal judge is told this afternoon.

This time it's Jose Mauricio Rosas-Hernandez:

Americans Are Now a Target in Trump’s Immigration Crackdown A WSJ investigation tracked the U.S. citizens caught in the crosshairs of an aggressive federal campaign to detain and demonize dissenters.

From @wsj.com:

"Of the 279 people accused by officials on X of attacking federal officers in the past year, 181 were U.S. citizens, the Journal found. Close to half of those Americans were never charged with assault. None have been convicted at trial."

www.wsj.com/us-news/immi...

🔊 Listen Now: ICE protesters keep beating Trump in Chicago court, but the battles take a toll — 'It's about intimidation' WBEZ on NPR One

ICE protesters keep beating Trump in Chicago court, but the battles take a toll — 'It's about intimidation'

An @wbez.org report with @mariahwoelfel.bsky.social: one.npr.org?sharedMediaI...

Yep, pretty much.

This was a per curiam opinion (meaning "by the court" with no named author).

The case was before Chief Judge Michael Brennan (Trump) and Judges Frank Easterbrook (Reagan) and Michael Scudder (Trump).

Easterbrook dissented.

Ellis dismissed the case in January. She did so without prejudice.

But the 7th Circuit points out that, "The practical upshot of the district court’s decision is that the named plaintiffs and members of the class can refile in federal court tomorrow and try to reimplement the injunction anew."

The full opinion is here: cst.brightspotcdn.com/b3/26/ced883...

This case involved extraordinary circumstances. Working on a highly compressed timeline, the district court granted an overbroad, constitutionally suspect injunction. This decision was supported with hundreds of pages of factfinding, cover- ing incidents from over a dozen locations around the North- ern District of Illinois. That decision treated the claims of lead plaintiffs, class members, and non-class members as essen- tially interchangeable—both for Article III standing and for the merits. Yet when this court stayed the district court’s or- der, the plaintiffs quickly and voluntarily withdrew their case. Vacatur is therefore proper to ensure the district court’s injunction order does not affect future litigation, which would present its own facts and legal issues.

The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals just issued an opinion that officially vacates U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis' preliminary injunction against Operation Midway Blitz tactics and dismisses an appeal.

Along the way, they called Ellis' order "constitutionally suspect."

Statement from Christopher Parente, attorney for Chicago's Marimar Martinez:

"Everyone involved in the spreading of lies about Marimar Martinez is out of their job. Now it is time for the FBI to do their job and investigate."

Trump says that Kristi Noem is stepping down as Homeland Security secretary The president said he would nominate Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin to replace her.

BREAKING: President Trump announces Kristi Noem is out as head of Homeland Security, picking Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin to replace her.

DHS head Noem claims she doesn't know about Marimar Martinez, Chicago woman shot 5 times by federal agent Martinez released a statement on Tuesday saying Kristi Noem's claims of not knowing her case comes as "the evidence we released in my case demonstrates otherwise." She said text messages prove the age...

"I don’t know the situation or the case.”

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem claims not to know about Marimar Martinez, the woman shot five times by a Border Patrol agent in Chicago.

@tinasfon.bsky.social reports: chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

Hear from Ray Collins and Jocelyne Robledo, the Chicago couple charged after an ICE protest last fall — only to be cleared when a grand jury refused to indict them: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADy5...

ICE protesters keep beating Trump in Chicago court, but the battles take a toll — 'It’s about intimidation' Cases against 17 of 32 people charged with crimes during Operation Midway Blitz have already collapsed, and no one has been convicted. But federal prosecutions are daunting, they carry the threat of p...

Several people have been cleared of federal charges tied to Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago. But they still had a price to pay.

For example, the 17 cleared defendants spent a combined 150 days in federal custody, records show.

From @chicago.suntimes.com: chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

Why Is The Cook County State's Attorney Prosecuting Nonviolent ICE Protesters? A Block Club investigation found dozens of protesters arrested by state police are still facing criminal charges for minor infractions, such as sitting on a concrete barrier — even after Gov. JB Pritz...

Why Is The Cook County State’s Attorney Prosecuting Nonviolent ICE Protesters?

A @blockclubchi.bsky.social investigation by Mina Bloom: blockclubchicago.org/2026/02/26/w...

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Cummings then followed up with a written order, that expanded the number of people who should be released to 36.

You can read it here: cst.brightspotcdn.com/72/ae/494d6b...

Judge orders 32 detainees released over ICE consent decree violations, but some have already been deported Two who could be released were among 37 detained during the feds' Sept. 30 raid of an apartment complex at 7500 S. South Shore Drive.

A federal judge ruled from the bench Friday that ICE arrests of 32 people during Operation Midway Blitz violated a consent decree, and that they should be released.

But the @chicago.suntimes.com is told many have already either been released or deported: chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

ICE protesters keep beating Trump in Chicago court, but the battles take a toll. 'It’s about intimidation' Cases against 17 of 32 people charged with crimes during Operation Midway Blitz have already collapsed, and no one has been convicted. But federal prosecutions are daunting, they carry the threat of p...

Five months after his Operation Midway Blitz case fell apart, Ray Collins still has to warn potential employers, "I was arrested for a felony."

Still, he says "they can't tarnish who I am."

On the people left to pick up the pieces after winning in court: chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

ICE protesters keep beating Trump in Chicago court, but the battles take a toll. 'It’s about intimidation' Cases against 17 of 32 people charged with crimes during Operation Midway Blitz have already collapsed, and no one has been convicted. But federal prosecutions are daunting, they carry the threat of p...

Operation Midway Blitz cases keep collapsing in Chicago's federal court. But the allegations and threats of prison time from Trump's Justice Department still take a toll.

My @chicago.suntimes.com story on the cost of winning: chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

Federal prosecutors agree to clarify, narrow 'Broadview Six' protest conspiracy case The high-profile case involves a group of activists and Democratic politicians who were arrested during the height of Operation Midway Blitz. The concessions come as prosecutions tied to the deportati...

Federal prosecutors agree to clarify, narrow 'Broadview Six' protest conspiracy case

From @chicago.suntimes.com: chicago.suntimes.com/crime/2026/0...

Court's adjourned.

At the end of a back-and-forth about whether the feds have any co-conspirator statements to offer, Hogan says "we'll let you know by the 31st."

Perry is setting the next status date for March 31.

Perry says the defense attorneys' real problem is "that you fundamentally do not believe the evidence supports a charge or a conviction."

"A bill of particulars is not going to solve that problem," Perry says. "A jury will."

The time period of the conspiracy is 9/26/25, the judge notes. The feds have indicated they're alleging a "spontaneous" conspiracy, she says, and they're "not necessarily aware of any" true threats in the case.

Perry says the defense hasn't met the standard for a bill of particulars, but "we've gotten you quite a bit of the way there."

As for whether prosecutors are alleging a "spontaneous conspiracy," Herman says "in a case like this … you'd have to kind of turn your mind into a knot to understand it."

Herman also circles back to the exchange below and says, "it's well settled that actions can also be expressive conduct."

bsky.app/profile/jons...