A Chicago area man has been charged with a felony after allegedly throwing a Big Gulp soft drink at the county attorney, Kim Foxx, during a roadway dispute, according to police and local outlets. The man says he did not know who she was when the incident occurred. 

William Swetz was driving his car near Ms. Foxx’s home when he saw her walking in the street. Mr. Swetz allegedly yelled: “Get off the road, bitch!” without knowing who the Cook County prosecutor was. Ms. Foxx allegedly “made a hand gesture” in response. 

Mr. Swetz then reversed his car, leading Ms. Foxx to step off the road. When he pulled up next to her, he allegedly threw a Big Gulp drink — which Ms. Foxx believed to be root beer — at her before driving off. 

Mr. Swetz has been charged with aggravated battery in a public place and aggravated assault with a motor vehicle, both of which are felony offenses. 

According to CWB Chicago, Mr. Swetz’s attorney told a county judge that he had “no idea” that it was Ms. Foxx when he threw the drink at her.

Some who spoke to CWB Chicago said they were surprised the aggravated assault charge was listed as a felony because Ms. Foxx famously and routinely downgrades violent offenses to misdemeanors in Cook County for the sake of “racial equity,” as she puts it. 

After taking off in 2016, Ms. Foxx instituted a number of reforms at the Cook County state’s attorney’s office, including increasing the number of declinations to prosecute and the downgrading of many crimes to misdemeanors from felonies. 

In May, Ms. Foxx considered a new policy that would have directed her prosecutors to not charge anyone that was found to have illegal drugs or firearms in their vehicles if the information was obtained through a traffic stop. The policy was considered in response to the killing of a Chicago man who was killed by police after he opened fire during a traffic stop, Dexter Reed. 

In 2021, Ms. Foxx did not charge anyone after a deadly shootout took place on Chicago’s West Side that left one man dead. A Chicago SWAT team witnessed a firefight between two rival groups, one barricaded inside a home and another group that had pulled up to the house and began firing. 

The then-mayor, Lori Lightfoot, said Ms. Foxx made the wrong decision in not prosecuting anyone involved. “Having been a prosecutor myself, having been briefed and looked at the evidence myself, I see ground for charges,” Ms. Lightfoot said, according to WGN-9 Chicago. “If they don’t feel like the criminal justice system is going to hold them accountable, we’re going to see a level of brazenness that will send this city into chaos and we cannot let that happen.”