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This is where we are in America today. Let’s Change it.

Did you catch the 60 Minutes segment last night on what makes the semi-automatic AR-15 the weapon of choice for mass shooters? AR-15 ammunition travels up to three times the speed of sound. “The bones aren’t going to just break, they’re going to shatter. Organs aren’t just going to tear or have bruises on them, they … are going to be destroyed.”

Variations of the AR-15 were used to kill at a Texas church, a Las Vegas concert, Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, Sandy Hook Elementary School and last week a Pittsburgh synagogue.

Dr. Peter Antevy, a first responder at the Marjorie Stoneman Douglas school shooting where 17 children were murdered, said that since the Sandy Hook massacre there has been a national campaign to equip all rescue units with Active Killer Kits used on battlefields in war zones, because these weapons of war are being used in our neighborhoods here at home.

Peter Antevy: The day after the shooting, my kids, they’re waking up, and they’re “time to go to school.” And, my son heard kind of heard what happened the night before, when I was on the scene, and he looked at me with the fear of God that he had to go to school that day. My first instinct was, “He needs a bleeding kit.” My son today has a bleeding kit on his person.

Scott Pelley: How old is he?

Peter Antevy: 12 years old. Here it is. This is it. We, we, I’ve given him this and I’ve taught him how to use it.

Scott Pelley: You believe that these mass casualty events have become so common –

Peter Antevy: Absolutely.

Scott Pelley: – that it is important for everyone in this country to be prepared.

Peter Antevy: Everyone.

Scott Pelley: That’s where we are in America today?

Peter Antevy: That’s where we are.

I hope you find this as disturbing and shocking as I do. So much so, that if you haven’t voted yet, or were thinking of not voting, you get out and vote, it does matter. Share this list of candidates committed to keeping our children, families and communities free from to gun violence with your friends, families, peers and colleagues. Honor all gun violence victims and survivors with a vote.

CLICK HERE to find your early voting location

CLICK HERE to find your day-of voting location

 

For Governor:

JB Pritzker

For Illinois Attorney General:

Sen. Kwame Raoul

For the Illinois Senate:

Hon. Omar Aquino, 2nd district

Hon. Mattie Hunter, 3rd district

Ram Villivalam, candidate, 8th district

Hon. Laura Fine, candidate, 9th district

Hon. Elgie R. Sims, Jr., 17 district

Hon. Iris Martinez, 20th district

Hon. Chris Nybo, 24th district

Tom Georges, candidate, 26th district

Hon. Tom Rooney, 27th district

Hon. Julie Morrison, 29th district

Hon. Terry Link, 30th district

Mary Mahady, candidate, 32nd district

Nancy Zettler, candidate, 33rd district

Heidi Henry, candidate, 38th district

Hon. Don Harmon, 39th district

Hon. John Curran, 41st district

David Simpson, candidate, 45th district

Christopher Belt, candidate, 57th district

For the Illinois House:

Aaron Ortiz, candidate, 1st district

Hon. Theresa Mah, 2nd district

Hon. Luis Arroyo, 3rd district

Delia Ramirez, candidate, 4th district

Lamont Robinson Jr., candidate, 5th district

Hon. Sonya Harper, 6th district

Hon. Melissa Conyears-Ervin, 10th district

Hon. Ann Williams, 11th district

Hon. Sara Feingenholtz, 12th district

Hon. Gregory Harris, 13th district

Hon. Kelly Cassidy, 14th district

Hon. John D’Amico, 15th district

Hon. Lou Lang, 16th district

Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, candidate, 17th district

Hon. Robyn Gabel, 18th district

Hon. Robert Martwick, 19th district

Hon. Celina Villanueva, 21st district

Hon. Lisa Hernandez, 24th district

Hon. Justin Slaughter, 27th district

Hon. Thaddeus Jones, 29th district

Hon. Mary Flowers, 31st district

Hon. Frances Ann Hurley, 35th district

Val Montgomery, candidate, 41st district

Kathleen Carrier, candidate, 42nd district

Hon. Anna Moeller, 43rd district

Hon. Fred Crespo, 44th district

Hon. Deb Conroy, 46th district

Hon. Peter Breen, 48th district

Karina Villa, candidate, 49th district

Mary Edly-Allen, candidate, 51st district

Mark Walker, candidate, 53rd district

Maggie Trevor, candidate, 54th district

Hon. Marty Moylan, 55th district

Hon. Michelle Mussman, 56th district

Hon. Jonathon Carroll, 57th district

Bob Morgan, candidate, 58th district

Daniel Didech, candidate, 59th district

Joyce Mason, candidate, 61st district

Hon. Sam Yingling, 62nd district

Trisha Zubert, candidate, 64th district

Richard Johnson, candidate, 65th district

Maurice West, candidate, 67th district

Jake Castanza, candidate, 68th district

Angelique Bodine, candidate, 69th district

Paul Stoddard, candidate, 70th district

Hon. Kathleen Willis, 77th district

Hon. Camille Lily, 78th district

Hon. Linda Chapa LaVia, 83rd district

Hon. John Connor, 85th district

Amy Davis, candidate, 90th district

Mica Freeman, candidate, 97th district

Hon. Natalie Manley, 98th district

Marc Bell, candidate, 99th district

Jennifer McMillin, candidate, 101st district

Hon. Carol Ammons, 103rd district

Shirley Bell, candidate, 110th district

Hon. LaToya Greenwood, 114th district

Our children are counting on us. #OurOneJob is to keep them safe. Elections have consequences, let’s make them good ones.

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1235 N Clybourn Ave Ste A246
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Rick Ryan

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As the Lake County State’s Attorney, I am honored and humbled every day to lead the fight against crime, and to strive to ensure equal and just treatment under the law. I have been an attorney for twenty-two years – and each of those years has made me a stronger and smarter advocate for people, for ideas, and for the principles that unite us all.

I am so proud to lead an office of 140 dedicated colleagues who serve the public by prosecuting crime, advocating for victims, and planning crime prevention programs. I am also proud to work with hundreds of Lake County police officers on a daily basis to connect with every community and to develop comprehensive, holistic plans to respond to the mental health and economic crisis that arose from the COVID-19 pandemic.

On one particular day, July 4, 2022, I was saddened, inspired, and motivated by the bravery of so many people. We will always stand with the victims and honor the police and other first responders who ran toward the danger. Just as so many heroes that day thought only of themselves, I also witnessed the prosecutors in my office answer the call to serve survivors and their community – even on one of its darkest days.

Every moment that I have been your legal representative, I have worked tirelessly to oversee prosecutions and to implement policies that make my family and my neighbors safer in the short term and in the long term. That is the job of the State’s Attorney: to prosecute, to innovate, and to strategically plan.

I was raised in a small town. My parents are teachers, and from them, I learned that everyone must be treated equally and that America’s sacred mission is to provide a political, economic, and legal system that allows anyone to prosper regardless of the circumstances of their birth. After graduating from Knox College and the University of Chicago Law School, I spent two years at a first-rate civil law firm in Chicago where I learned that hard work and attention to detail on every case mean the difference between success and failure.

With my wonderful wife Stephanie, I am raising my two sons, Sam and Teddy, in Lake County. Nothing is more important to me than my family’s safety and I bring that passion and determination to protect all families with me to work every day.

I joined the Lake County Public Defender’s Office in 2003 and started my own law firm in 2009. From 2003 until 2020, I watched the Lake County legal system fail to prioritize violent crime, prevent wrongful prosecutions, or address racial disparities.

So, in 2019, I decided to run for State’s Attorney so that I could serve our community by improving a local legal system that cared more about covering up its mistakes and biases than uncovering new and innovative ways to help people.

I won the 2020 election, and became the first Democrat to hold this position in 40 years. Bringing in a new party wasn’t as important as ending 40 years of one mindset that had forgotten the people and that had failed to act urgently to develop new strategic plans to prevent crime while also ensuring that each prosecution is smart, moral, and just.

We have followed through on our promises. We have built the first-ever violent crimes unit, increased prosecutors in our domestic violence division, and vastly upgraded our cyber lab. Now, we have top-notch software and personnel to finally keep up with those who would exploit others.

We have been awarded a large federal grant to bring the first ever Human Trafficking Task Force to Lake County. We have deepened our investment in people by bringing in more victim specialists and raising the salaries of many of our prosecutors.

But the work goes on. We must expand our prevention efforts that are starting with the Gun Violence Prevention Initiative launched in 2022. And we know that the opioid crisis touches thousands of lives throughout this country.

I am proud to serve on the Executive Board of the Lake County Opioid Initiative which has been working tirelessly since its founding in 2012 to reverse a devastating trend of increased overdoses. In 2022, our office was part of a national settlement against opioid manufacturers and distributors.

As an attorney of 22 years, I have committed my life to helping people, and I have conducted over 70 jury trials in Lake County, and handled appeals that have culminated in over 20 oral arguments before the appellate court and Supreme Court of Illinois.

I see my time in this office as the next phase of helping a community that I love and where I have chosen to raise my family. In my first term, we have made Lake County safer and fairer through just prosecutions, constitutional policing, and innovative crime prevention policies.