Shocking and completely unacceptable.
While at the same time many Illinois citizens are stuck at home and Governor JB Pritzker has mandated many Illinois businesses keep their doors closed, he has opened the doors of our prisons and released murderers and other violent criminals into our communities.
This is no joke. This letter demanding answers, transparency, and accountability on this matter was sent to Governor Pritzker on April 16.
As many of you know, the impact of the coronavirus on our prisons has been a major concern of mine. I previously sent a letter to Director Jeffreys of the Illinois Department of Corrections requesting information as to the precautions, planning, PPE sourcing, and other actions being taken to protect the staff and prisoners at our IDOC facilities. I still have some outstanding concerns. I have also been in close and constant communication with local county health departments and county sheriffs departments to make sure everyone was working together, had PPE ready, and had taken appropriate precautions to make sure local jails did not become problem areas during this crisis.
I have not objected when media reports have suggested we might temporarily furlough non-violent prisoners who fell into a high-risk health category. This is not an unreasonable idea, if properly executed, during a national crisis such as we are now experiencing. However, we now know that this is not a matter of just furloughing high-risk non-violent criminals, this goes much further and is extremely troubling.
The governor of Illinois has commuted the sentences of murderers and other violent criminals during this national emergency. One would think the attention and resources of government should be directed towards something other than commuting sentences at this time. I find the timing of these actions very concerning, the entire situation is shocking and completely unacceptable.
I join with law enforcement officers, community leaders, prosecutors, and victims and/or their families from across Illinois who are demanding the governor provide immediate answers to these questions.