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Despite mounting evidence and often withering criticism, the Cook County state’s attorney’s office never prosecuted Burge. When I asked Alvarez during an interview if she thought Devine, her boss the last 12 years, had looked the other way instead of going after Burge, she said: “I don’t think he was part of any internal cover-up or anything, but when the allegations first surfaced, more could have been done—not just on our part but on the part of the Chicago Police Department.”
“When the allegations first surfaced, I was still in undergrad. I don’t think I can be criticized for that,” she said. “As a young assistant state’s attorney, I worked in the appellate division writing briefs. What’s important is that as we went along with the process and a special prosecutor was assigned, we cooperated fully. Whatever Egan and Boyle needed, we gave them. We created a new unit for professional standards—even if it should have been created 30 years earlier. Videotaping of interrogations—I’ve been part of those things. That’s important to note. I’ve been part of these changes and they’re not going away.”
