Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx turned down an option to debate against her Republican opponent, noting that she will not even sit on a stage with him as she continues campaigning for re-election as part of the Cook County state’s attorney’s race. She attributed her decision to fear-mongering and being subject to demeaning labels just like Donald Trump.
The incumbent decided to withdraw from debates citing earlier editorial board interviews that had each candidate explaining why they were ideal for Cook County’s top prosecutor position, Foxx’s spokeswoman Alex Sims revealed in a statement. Sims went on to accuse Foxx’s challenger Pat O’Brien of fear-mongering and Trump-like name-calling in these interviews.
"Thus, there will be no debates between them for now," Sims wrote in the statement. During recent Ed board interviews, Sims wrote they learned that the State’s Attorney joined in O’Brien who resorted to using the time for fear-mongering and Trump-like name-calling.
She said Foxx will not sit across the stage from a Republican that takes advantage of a tragedy to win a campaign, noting that they already had plenty of that last night, referencing the chaos of the recently concluded first debate between President Donald Trump and his Democratic rival former Vice President Joe Biden. "Voters deserve better," Sims added.
O’Brien didn't waste a lot of time to criticize Foxx’s refusal to participate in a debate, calling it an offense to the people of Cook County. In his statement, which touted the campaign as one of the state's most important high-profile races, O’Brien said he thinks voters deserve to know the difference between the candidates, adding that eager to debate Foxx on the record.
Referring to Tuesday night’s debate between Trump and Biden, O’Brien said Cook County voters want and deserve nothing less than a real debate on the challenges. When asked about adopting a Trump-style strategy of name-calling, O’Brien spokesman Brad Goodman said Foxx is avoiding a debate because Judge O’Brien has successfully and publicly revealed her failures in terms of prosecuting violent crime and the role she played in the Jussie Smollett case.
The ABC-7 hosted debate which was slated to take place in mid Oct. was canceled on Tuesday, according to an email acquired by Chicago Tribune. An ABC news director confirmed this noting that State’s Attorney Foxx has turned down its invitation to debate, meaning, the network will not be producing a debate.