McHenry Times

Republican state Sen. Dan McConchie (R-Lake Zurich) is pushing to put the state of Illinois’ rising crime problem on center stage.

“The people of Illinois should have the opportunity to testify and the legislators should be debating our public crime problem in public,” McConchie said in a video posted to Facebook. “By not even allowing a public debate on these issues, the Democratic majority is making it clear that they do not see crime as an issue and are unwilling to discuss solutions. This is unacceptable."

With downstate communities like Champaign and Decatur also experiencing rising violent crime rates, McConchie argues Sen. Chapin Rose’s (R-Champaign) Fund The Police Act could be the answer.

“Last week, Sen. Rose and other Republicans introduced a comprehensive public safety package designed to empower public safety to tackle this crime wave,” he said, adding Fund The Police seeks to address the problem by “getting more boots on the ground to fight violent crime, funding police training, incentivizing the hiring and retention of police officers, helping to offset local governments’ police overtime costs and helping to tackle mental health issues, which contribute to the overall problem.”

The plan also seeks to create a $100 million fund that would go to the Illinois Law Enforcement Training & Standards Board who would make grants available to local governments and universities to hire police officers and purchase equipment designed to prevent gang violence.

“Legislative leaders found time to ram through multiple controversial bills this year that do nothing to keep people safe,” Rose said. “Meanwhile people are literally dying in the streets, school buses are getting shot at, and families are afraid to go outside. It’s well past time for the state to do something.”

The measure also seeks to establish that a defendant who commits aggravated battery to a police officer serve at least 85% of their sentence and denies bail for previously convicted gun offenders or a felon charged with a gun offense.

McConchie also recently made mention of the tragedy of 9/11 on his Twitter feed, "Let us never forget this attack on the innocent and sacrifices made by our first responders who died trying to save them.”