With his re-election campaign underway, Gov. J.B. Pritzker included funding for anti-crime measures in his proposed 2023 budget, a topic that is sure to be on the minds of voters.
Pritzker proposed allocating $240 million, largely from federal pandemic relief funds, toward community-based violence prevention. The money would be targeted toward organizations that deal with the root causes of violence.
“Crime is a complex and multifaceted problem to tackle, and it’s cynical and counterproductive to simply shout ‘lock them up’ while providing fewer resources to the people and programs that prevent crime in the first place,” Pritzker said in his speech Wednesday.
State Sen. Chapin Rose, R-Mahomet, said the time to address violent crime is now.
“All Gov. Pritzker wants to do is throw money at something that may or may not work years down the road,” Rose said. “Republicans want to take violent criminals off the streets today.”
Pritzker is proposing an increase of $18.6 million to the Illinois State Police budget to hire and train an additional 300 troopers, and $20 million to fund a new protection program for witnesses of gang-related crime.
State Sen. Steve McClure, R-Springfield, said the program will be useless when cash bail ends on Jan. 1, 2023.
“There’s no greater message that is sent to scare witnesses than the moment after someone intimidates you, that person is back on the streets in the neighborhood,” McClure said.
The governor in November issued an executive order that declared gun violence a public health emergency. The order created the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention that will oversee the grants that will be awarded to street outreach groups across Illinois.
Illinois Senate Republicans have introduced a legislative package they said is aimed at reducing violent crime and helping law enforcement.
The package includes the Fund the Police Grant Act. State Sen. Sue Rezin, R-Morris, said it would provide grants to help police with more training and purchase more equipment.
“These measures are necessary to not only give law enforcement the tools that they need but also to send a clear message,” Rezin said. “Go after our police and there will be consequences.”
The Republicans’ measures also aim to keep violent offenders off the streets by increasing penalties and reinstating cash bail.
Rose accused the governor and Illinois Democrats of non-action against crime.
“You guys have failed and are continuing to fail to act to make our state safe and to back the men and women in blue,” Rose said.
The Illinois Legislative Black Caucus, which is behind many of the criminal justice reform measures passed last year, released a statement regarding the Republican efforts to repeal some of the measures.
“We trust the public won’t fall for this,” they wrote. “We are improving public safety, supporting law enforcement and ending systemic injustice at the same time. We are not going backwards.”
