Laquan McDonald

Alvarez on Firing of Supt. McCarthy: ‘It's the Mayor's Prerogative'

Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez weighed in Tuesday night on the firing of police superintendent Garry McCarthy.

“You know, it's the mayor's prerogative of who he wants as the superintendent,” Alvarez said to NBC 5 after appearing on WTTW's “Chicago Tonight.” “I've been a prosecutor 29 years, I’ve worked with many different superintendents. I will continue to have a professional relationship with whoever is in that spot.”

Alvarez says she will not be next despite a growing number of calls for her resignation.

“I have no intention of resigning, there’s no reason for me to resign” Alvarez said. “I have an election coming up in March so the voters of Cook County will vote.”

One vote she will not be getting is that of Congressman Luis Gutierrez who earlier Tuesday pulled his support.

“It’s was very difficult for me, but I informed her today I'm not asking her to resign, but not going to support reelection effort,” Gutierrez said during an interview with Kate Snow on MSNBC.

“It was a surprise, I was a little disappointed because I hoped he would have called me first. I think there’s a lot of misinformation there about Laquan McDonald case.”

Alvarez also defended her part in the McDonald investigation Tuesday.

“We wanted to make sure that we meticulously investigated everything, built the strongest case possible so that this officer will be held accountable at the end of trial,” Alvarez said during her appearance on “Chicago Tonight.”

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