EMILYs List Announces Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx as 2018 Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star
For Immediate Release
March 8, 2018
EMILY's List Announces Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx as 2018 Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award Winner
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, announced that the 2018 Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award will be awarded to Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx. Former U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords will present Kim with the award at the We Are EMILY Gala in Washington, D.C. on April 18th. Stephanie Schriock, president of EMILYs List, released the following statement:
“Kim Foxx is a passionate, inspiring, and impactful leader who has distinguished herself by breaking barriers and fighting for justice. As the first African American woman to serve as Cook County State's Attorney, her hard work and dedication to fairness have helped transform the criminal justice system in Chicago. We at EMILY's List have been blown away by her commitment to making positive change in her community and empowering other women leaders. We're proud to award her our 2018 Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award.”
Kim Foxx’s vision is to build the most just, equitable, and transparent prosecutor’s office in the country by working proactively to make all communities safe while investing in policies that promote a more balanced criminal justice system. Her first year in office has brought substantial progress in priority areas, including wrongful convictions, bond reform, and gun violence. Kim was born and raised on Chicago’s Near North Side and received her B.A. and J.D. from Southern Illinois University.
About the award: The award honors a woman who demonstrates the sort of commitment to community, dedication to women and families, and determination and civility that have been the highlights of former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ career, in and out of office. Previous Rising Star Award recipients include Georgia House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams in 2014, Boston City Councilwoman Ayanna Pressley in 2015, Colorado House Speaker Crisanta Duran in 2016, and Philadelphia City Councilwoman Helen Gym in 2017.
EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, has raised over $500 million to support pro-choice Democratic women candidates – making them one of the most successful political organizations ever. Our grassroots community of over five million members helps Democratic women wage competitive campaigns – and win. We recruit and train candidates, support strong campaigns, research the issues that impact women and families, and turn out women voters. Since our founding in 1985, we have helped elect 116 women to the House, 23 to the Senate, 12 governors, and over 800 to state and local office. Forty percent of the candidates EMILYs List has helped elect to Congress have been women of color. Since the 2016 election, thousands of women and counting have reached out to us about running for office. To harness this energy, EMILYs List has launched Run to Win, an unprecedented effort to get more women to run at the local, state, and national levels.
