McHenry Times

Senator Craig Wilcox recently shared footage from the 2023 Police Officers Memorial Ceremony, which he attended on May 3, outside the State Capitol. He described the ceremony as "a solemn event, yet so important."

"Yesterday we honored the fallen police officers of 2023 at the Police Officers Memorial Ceremony outside of the State Capitol," said Craig A Wilcox, State Senator, according to Facebook. "It is a solemn event, yet so important as we recognize those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty to keep us safe."

The subsequent year's Illinois Police Officers Memorial Ceremony took place on May 2, commencing at 9:30 a.m., with an interfaith ceremony preceding the main event at 11 a.m. The ceremony was held at the Illinois Police Officers Memorial Site on the west lawn of the State Capitol. According to the Illinois Police Memorial website, this event is organized by the Illinois Police Officers Memorial Committee, an entity that has been in existence since 1985.

In 2024, two names were added to the memorial along with four historic honorees. Officer Andres Mauricio Vasquez Lasso and Officer Areanah Makayla Preston, both from the Chicago Police Department, passed away on March 1 and May 6 of 2023 respectively. Other law enforcement professionals who died prior to 2023 and were honored this year included Officer John Francis Kane of Cicero Police Department, Sheriff Ray Boston of Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, Deputy Sheriff Andrew H. Sloan of Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office and Detective Todd C. Gillerlain of Chicago Police Department. Their end-of-watch dates spanned from November 12, 1910 to May 7, 2020 as per information provided by the Illinois Police Memorial organization's website.

NPR Illinois reported that this memorial is an annual event held on the first Thursday of May each year. The report noted that State Treasurer Michael Frerichs, State Comptroller Susanna Mendoza and retired Chicago police officer Mike Ostrowski were present at this occasion. According to NPR Illinois' report, Vasquez Lasso was "shot and killed while responding to a domestic disturbance," while Preston "was shot and killed during an attempted robbery immediately following her shift on May 6, 2023."

Wilcox was appointed to represent the people of the 32nd Senate District in October 2018. Prior to this appointment, he served on the McHenry County Board from 2016 to 2018 and spent 24 years in the US Air Force. According to his official Senate biography, Wilcox and his family reside in McHenry.