CHICAGO — It’s the main event in the Chicago area on March 19 – the Democratic primary for Cook County State’s Attorney. 

Tuesday morning, candidate Eileen O’Neill Burke broke the spending cap when she and her husband contributed more than $100,000 to her campaign. Now, unlimited money can flow into the race.

O’Neill Burke is using her money on TV commercials like this one going after her rival.

“Politics as usual or the change we need. Clayton Harris is a political insider. He’s an anti-union corporate lobbyist.”

O’Neill Burke, with 30 years of experience as a judge and prosecutor, is running on a platform focused on safety and justice. The message has won her the backing of the Chicago Tribune.

Clayton Harris III is a Democratic Party-endorsed candidate who is a lecturer at the University of Chicago and a former aide to Mayor Daley and Governor Blagojevich. His message is fairness.

“I know the fear that violent crime will harm the ones we love is all too common. As States Attorney, I’ll prosecute violent crime appropriately.”    

On the campaign trail, the candidates have said they differ on outgoing State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s retail theft policy. Foxx does not prosecute retail theft as a felony unless over $1,000 worth of goods is stolen. Harris said he would continue the policy, while O’Neill Burke wants to return to the $300 threshold under state law.

After two terms of Foxx, who was a lightning rod for criticism, political analyst Paul Lisnek says voters are paying closer attention to subtle differences among the Democrats.

“Ordinarily, the Cook County State’s Attorney race, like other Cook County races, would be a slam dunk for whoever the endorsed candidate is, but this time around, people are looking more closely at what happened with Jussie Smollett under Kim Foxx,” Lisnek said. “So this time around, people want to see change. People are looking to see what will be different as life moves forward here.”

Whoever prevails in the Democratic contest is expected to win the general election in November. The Republican candidate is Bob Fioretti and the Libertarian is Andrew Kopinski.