Rep: $111 million for community violence intervention is out of touch

By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square
The Center Square

(The Center Square) – An Illinois state lawmaker says Gov. J.B. Pritzker is out of touch for spending major tax dollars on community violence interrupters.

The governor’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2027 includes $111 million for violence prevention, youth prevention and development, and community conveners.

Pritzker’s proposed budget for Illinois State Police is $477.7 million in general funds, including $2 million to hire and train 100 additional state troopers.

State Rep. Patrick Sheehan, R-Homer Glen, said it’s an extreme imbalance.

“We have a recruitment and retention crisis here in law enforcement in the state of Illinois, and to throw $111 million at a lot of these programs, I think it just screams that Gov. Pritzker is completely out of touch with the crime problem here in Illinois,” Sheehan told The Center Square.

Sheehan, who is also a police officer, noted that the governor posed for a photo with a so-called “peacekeeper” who was later charged with murder in a downtown Chicago smash-and-grab burglary last year.

Violence intervention workers have been charged in many other cases as well.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has repeatedly championed CVI funding. The mayor said on Tuesday his philosophy is to invest in communities that were previously ignored.

“We have seen the punitive approach where you had, I guess, oversimplified, misguided policies of locking people up,” Johnson said.

CVI organizations, including Chicago CRED and Metropolitan Peace Initiatives, praised Pritzker last month for maintaining CVI funding.

Last month, at an event marking lower violent crime numbers in the city, Chicago CRED founder Arne Duncan said it would not have been possible with the $100+ million in state funding each year.

Duncan said Chicago is spending about $32 million on CVI this year and Cook County is spending $20 million.

Sheehan said there are better ways to address crime.

“Why aren’t we using this money to do combined joint tax task forces or [Metropolitan Enforcement Group] units, where we can use that money for equipment, license plate readers, drones, Cessnas, whatever, to help curb the out-of-control crime that’s here in the state of Illinois,” Sheehan said.

Public safety accounts for 5.2% of Pritzker’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2027. Health care appropriations represent 34.4% and education is second at 16.3%.