If we invest in educating our kids and creating real opportunity, there will be demand for them in the workforce, not on the street corner.

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My son attended Western Illinois University, home of the fourth-ranked law enforcement program in the country. He graduated in 2020 with the intention of joining the Chicago Police Department. That was the year city and state leadership launched the defund the police campaign, which led to the passage of the SAFE-T Act. That law increased violent crime by 33% and created nearly 3,000 vacancies in the Chicago Police Department. All of that needs to change. We must back the blue.

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My opponent, the incumbent, authored and somehow passed a bill declaring that you can no longer call a criminal an offender. They must now be called "justice-impacted individuals," so as not to hurt their feelings or damage their psyche. I wonder if the incumbent thinks about the psyche of the woman who had gasoline poured over her head and was set on fire by a justice-impacted individual with 78 prior offenses. That incident was a direct result of her failed leadership and policies.

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We need to build a virtuous cycle of education, crime deterrence, and opportunity for our kids. Safe communities and thriving communities are the same thing.