CHICAGO (WLS) -- A political fight is brewing between the two most powerful female politicians in Cook County. The simmering controversy heated up another few degrees as the top players in Cook County's criminal justice system appeared together at Thursday's City Club luncheon.
The county board president, chief judge, state's attorney and sheriff celebrated the fact that the Cook County Jail's population is down 20 percent in the last 18 months, thanks in large part to the increased use of electronic monitoring devices.
"That process has saved the taxpayers more than 70 million," said Circuit Court Chief Judge Timothy Evans.
But Sheriff Tom Dart and Cook County President Tony Preckwinkle worried about the 8,000 or so remaining inmates - nearly 90 percent of which are poor blacks and Latinos - each costing taxpayers $142 a day.
"The fact of the matter is that on any given day over a third of my population is seriously mentally ill," Dart said.
"So when we're talking about criminal justice in this country, we have to understand that we're talking about race and class," Preckwinkle said.
Preckwinkle thanked the courts, probation department, and public defender for helping reduce the jail population. But she did not thank state's attorney Anita Alvarez, who is up for re-election next year and was sitting only a few feet away.
When asked if she would support Alvarez's re-election, Preckwinkle said: "I'm not prepared to talk about the state's attorney's race today."
Like many state's attorneys around the country, Alvarez is under fire for prosecuting too many people of color for non-violent offenses and going easy on police officers charged with abuse.
"I've charged more police officers with crimes across the board than any of my predecessors," Alvarez said.
Attorney Kimberly Foxx - a former assistant state's attorney, and now Preckwinkle's chief of staff - confirmed that she is considering a run against Alvarez.
"There's a concern for many that our criminal justice system is not fair, that it's about crime and punishment and not about fairness and justice," Foxx said.
Alvarez did not appear concerned that Preckwinkle might support a primary challenger.
"Unless she's running Hillary Clinton against me, I think I'm gonna be okay," Alvarez said.
The 2016 Illinois Primary Election - which will include the state's attorney's race - is on March 15, 2016.