In December 2016, Kim Foxx became the first African American state’s attorney to serve the city of Chicago, beating the incumbent by a 2-1 ratio in the primary election the previous March. Foxx ran as a reformer, pledging to investigate wrongful conviction cases and focus on police accountability. As Cook County state’s attorney, Foxx has instituted a variety of reforms from combating a culture of overcharging to issuing “mass exonerations” of defendants convicted by a corrupt police officer. Foxx also created a first-of-its-kind open data portal with felony case-level information dating to 2010, as part of her efforts to increase transparency. Origin story: Foxx grew up in Chicago’s Cabrini-Green housing complex, and her roots and success story have helped her connect with constituents concerned about both gun violence and police reform.

Read our related cover story: “Change Agents: A new wave of reform prosecutors upends the status quo”