Don Tracy: Illinoisans Deserve Safe Communities, Not Another Summer of Chaos
CHICAGO — Memorial Day weekend in Chicago brought another wave of violence, chaos, and attacks on both innocent residents and law enforcement officers, underscoring the failure of the “Illinois Blueprint” promoted by Lt. Governor Stratton.
According to reports, at least 36 people were shot across Chicago over Memorial Day weekend. Meanwhile, five Chicago police officers were injured when an 18-year-old suspect drove into them. The officers were attempting to prevent criminal activity by stopping a “teen takeover” on the Near West Side.
“The law-abiding people in Chicago and Illinois should not have to be terrorized and victimized by such breaches of the peace,” said Republican U.S. Senate candidate Don Tracy. “Memorial Day weekend should be about honoring the many soldiers, sailors and airmen who made the ultimate sacrifice so that we can live in a free society, not worrying about shootings and violent street chaos.”
Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling addressed the problem, saying these gatherings are “young people who are coming together to create chaos” and that “ I think it’s an insult to young people, especially young, inner-city kids — I was one — to say that they shouldn’t be held accountable for this.”
“Superintendent Snelling is exactly right,” Tracy said. “For too long, politician leaders in Illinois have undermined real consequences for criminal or destructive behavior thereby allowing it to spread and expand.
“Lt. Governor Stratton says she wants to take her ‘Illinois Blueprint’ to Washington, a model that has made communities less safe, weakened respect for law enforcement, and left working families trapped between rising costs and rising crime.
“Due to unsafe neighborhoods, unsafe downtown areas, and leaders who don't support law enforcement, violent teens and career criminals cycle through the legal system and police officers are forced to operate in increasingly dangerous conditions.
“We need a return to common sense political leadership that backs law enforcement, removes violent criminals from the streets, and prioritizes victims and law-abiding families over criminals and anti-police activists. Families in Chicagoland and other metro and mid-metro areas should not have to suffer through a summer of violent chaos.”
Don Tracy is available for phone, video, and in-studio interviews on this issue.
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About Don Tracy:
Don is Senior Counsel at Brown, Hay & Stephens, the oldest law firm in Illinois, where Abraham Lincoln famously practiced law for four years. Public service is important to Don, with a lifetime spent in community service, most often in volunteer positions. He has served as Chairman of the Illinois Republican Party, Chairman of the Illinois Gaming Board, Secretary of the Illinois Bar Foundation, President of the Sangamon County Bar Association, Chairman of the Illinois Corporate Acts Advisory Committee, and President of the Abraham Lincoln Association, President of the Oak Ridge Cemetery Board, among other community leadership positions. Born in Urbana, raised in Mt. Sterling in Western Illinois, and having raised his own family in Springfield in Central Illinois, Don has deep ties to "downstate Illinois." As the oldest of 12 children, family has always been important to Don.