Kim Foxx was sworn in Thursday as the Cook County state's attorney. View Full Caption DNAinfo/Erica Demarest

DOWNTOWN — Kim Foxx promised a new era of transparency Thursday when she was sworn in as the new Cook County state's attorney.

Foxx is the first African-American woman to hold the job. She handily beat incumbent Anita Alvarez during the Democratic primary in March, and took home nearly two-thirds of the vote in November's general election.

Speaking at an inauguration event at the Harold Washington Library, 400 S. State St., Foxx on Thursday promised to "do a wholesale review" of recent police-involved shooting cases to ensure there's "justice and transparency."

"We've had a structure in place for decades that has not ensured accountability," Foxx said.

Kim Foxx was sworn in Thursday as the Cook County state's attorney. View Full Caption DNAinfo/Erica Demarest

Though she offered few specifics, Foxx promised to work with local law enforcement agencies and community groups to address criminal justice issues and racial disparities in the city.

"The transparency alone will be a dramatic change from how the office works now," Foxx told reporters.

Though Alvarez made history in 2008 when she became Cook County's first female and first Hispanic top prosecutor, she came under intense scrutiny for her handling of the Laquan McDonald case.

Alvarez waited 13 months before charging the Chicago Police officer who fatally shot McDonald 16 times in 2014 — and only did so after a judge compelled the release of dashcam footage from the attack. Critics started a #byeanita hashtag on Twitter to demand she step down.

Foxx said she's spent the last nine months looking at "best practices" in other cities, including New York and Los Angeles. She plans to review Cook County's cases and use a "data-driven strategy" moving forward, she said.

But she cautioned change might not come quickly.

"These are problems that have been decades in the making," Foxx said. "Certainly, there will be a concerted effort to shift policy, but changing culture takes time."

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