By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square
The Center Square

(The Center Square) – After Gov. J.B. Pritzker said President Donald Trump was amplifying crime in Chicago, Illinois House Republicans said the governor was turning a blind eye to the city’s public safety crisis.

One teen was killed and eight others were injured in downtown Chicago shootings last Friday night, not long after city officials celebrated a tree-lighting ceremony and Christkindl market opening nearby. Large groups of teens could be seen gathering outside the Chicago Theatre shortly before shots rang out.

The president referred to the shootings and street takeover when he made a social media post the next day.

“Massive crime and rioting in the Chicago Loop area. Multiple Police Officers attacked and badly injured. 300 people rioting, 6 victims shot, one critical and one DEAD. In the meantime, Governor Pritzker and the Low IQ Mayor of Chicago are refusing Federal Government help for a situation that could be quickly remedied. The people are chanting, BRING IN TRUMP!!!” Trump’s Truth Social post said.

Hours before the shootings on Friday, Pritzker spoke at an unrelated event in Skokie and was asked about a woman being set on fire while sitting on a Chicago Transit Authority train the previous Monday, Nov. 17.

“Because the president of the United States regularly stands up and attacks the city of Chicago and says that it’s on fire and that every neighborhood and every community of Chicago is a dangerous place to be, when he does that, any time there is a crime and especially one this horrific, it tends to get amplified because of his words,” Pritzker said.

State Reps. John M. Cabello, R-Machesney Park, Patrick Sheehan, R-Homer Glen, and Dennis Tipsword, R-Metamore, all current law enforcement officers, released a statement Monday.

“Governor Pritzker continues to turn a blind eye to the public safety crisis gripping the city of Chicago and emboldening criminals across the state. Jestfully shrugging off attacks on the CTA because, ‘Look, big cities have crime,’ as he did in September, and going on late-night shows to mock the idea that there is, in fact, a very real public safety crisis, sends a horrific message to victims,” the statement said, adding that public safety is not a laughing matter.

“This governor has spent years promoting soft-on-crime policies that have left families and communities in fear. As Police Officers, we’ve seen firsthand how communities have become less safe, and what happened at the tree lighting ceremony this weekend and last week on the CTA are further examples of why we need to repeal the broken SAFE-T Act to restore accountability in the justice system,” the state reps added.

Pritzker suggested last Friday that he would be open to changing the SAFE-T Act.

Illinois House candidate David Sheppard formerly served as police chief in the Chicago suburb of Robbins. Sheppard said the SAFE-T Act should never have been enacted.

“We went from a kind of like medium on crime to a complete soft on crime,” Sheppard told The Center Square.

Sheppard said he could agree with small parts of the law but legislators went over the edge.

“The SAFE-T Act basically is a blueprint for the actual suspect to become the victim versus when the victim used to be a victim,” Sheppard said.

When asked about a solution to teen takeovers and violence, Sheppard said “what has been is what needs to be” and there needs to be accountability for young people.

“Back in the day it used to be, if you were caught with a weapon on your person as a juvenile, there was a consequence. You can literally be out right now on bond as a juvenile with a weapon charge of murder, and you’re not going to get enough points to be incarcerated,” Sheppard said.