WHEATON – This weekend, riots broke out in most of our major cities – including Chicago and in response to the apparent murder of George Floyd. Jeanne Ives, a candidate for Congress (IL-06) didn't mince words.
“There is no reason for Mr. Floyd to be dead. None. Four policemen. One suspect. A suspected non-violent crime. No weapon present. The police involved were inept and cruel and cowards. This is obviously a crime and anyone who saw the video clearly saw a man pleading to breathe and the policeman crushing him instead. I understand the anger over this. I am angry about it," she said.
“In response to Mr. Floyd’s death, violence, arson and theft has erupted in our major cities. These are criminal acts, in some cases perpetrated by opportunistic violent people outside of the community. Those who commit these crimes must be prosecuted. Lawlessness of any sort cannot be tolerated. The riots represent a failure of leadership to prevent serious wrong-doing. Despite the show of force by the Chicago Police Department, police cars were burned and smashed, and unbelievably, some Chicago police officers were dragged down the street by rioters. These actions show how little control elected leaders have over their city.
Ives went on to say the nation's leaders must take control of the situation at hand.
"In the long run, it is also imperative to re-evaluate the policies that have led Chicago to this moment. If we are ever to heal and move forward, it will require leaders to work across the aisle, across the city and across the nation to rebuild trust that has been destroyed," the former state representative said said. "Most of all, it will require consistent principles and the moral strength to uphold and apply the law and public policies equally in all situations."
"Saturday was a day of contrasts in America. As Americans soared into space, showcasing our country’s great achievements in technology, science, and business, other Americans escalated peaceful protests over an unjust death to violence and anarchy. Our future lies in supporting the former and abolishing the latter,” she said.
On the other hand, the Democrat incumbent Ives is working to oust in November was clear where he stands on the ongoing social unrest nationwide. Congressman Sean Casten (IL-06) wrote on his Facebook page Monday a passage that suggests those supporting the protests, rioting and demolition of businesses are "us good people" versus anyone else – that needs to be brought "to our light."
…I know there are a lot of good people in this country. Good men. Good women. Good Democrats. Good Republicans. Good doctors. Good cops.
But the events of the last 24 hours have been dominated by forces of hatred and violence. Some of those forces are just nihilists, but some of those forces are more organized. Forces that want to “have a hunt”, and are trying to provoke us good people into thinking that if we start that fight, we might win.
We have got to resist that temptation. They want to draw us into their darkness. We need to bring them to our light.
Now I realize that’s hard. It’s hard for me to resist that temptation, and I know it’s even harder for people who don’t look like me. But we’ve got to remind ourselves that even though the majority of our friends and neighbors are good people, their values aren’t reflected by a minority who hold great political power.
Sometimes it is necessary to stand up and speak truth to power and say no, this is not who we are as a country. This is one of those times.
Good people don’t see 'very fine people on both sides' in Charlottesville.
Ives will challenge Casten in November in Illinois' 6th CD.
