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Category: News

G-PAC APPLAUDS THE PASSAGE OF LEGISLATION TO MAKE GHOST GUNS ILLEGAL IN ILLINOIS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Saturday, April 9, 2022 G-PAC APPLAUDS THE PASSAGE OF LEGISLATION TO MAKE GHOST GUNS ILLEGAL IN ILLINOIS Springfield, Ill. – Gun Violence Prevention PAC President and CEO Kathleen Sances issued the following statement in response to the passage of new legislation (HB 4383, SA 2) that will make ghost guns illegal in […]

Committed to Keeping our Communities Free from Gun Violence

G-PAC was founded to counter the political influence of the gun industry and their lobby in Springfield. To do this, we need champions like state Rep. Maura Hirschauer, who is standing against the corporate gun lobby and actively fighting for policy changes that save lives.Since 2021, Maura has been serving as state representative of the 49th District. […]

Influx of guns is ‘ground zero for violence’ at the end of a bloody summer in Chicago

CHICAGO — 1,606 people were shot in a single three-month summer period in Chicago. That’s the population equivalent to many American small towns. The violence isn’t limited to the season: A 14-year-old was shot and killed hours after a separate late September mass shooting where five were wounded. They are numbers, and more significantly lives, […]

ICYMI: Gun Safety Organizations Send Letter To Speaker Welch Supporting HB 562

Chicago, Illinois  – A coalition of organizations supporting stronger gun safety laws recently sent a letter to Speaker of the House Emmanuel “Chris” Welch urging the passage of HB 562 through the House after the Senate passed the legislation. The letter of support was sent as more Illinoisans were killed by gun violence, including a […]

STATEMENT On Deadliest Weekend Of 2021 (So Far)

54 Shot, 12 Dead, Including 15-Year-Old Dajon Gater In Lead Up To Historically Deadly Memorial Day Weekend. SPRINGFIELD — After the deadliest weekend in Chicago so far this year — 54 shot and 12 dead, including 15-year-old Dajon Gater — Gun Violence Prevention PAC (G-PAC) Illinois issued the following statement: “Following the deadliest weekend of the year so […]

A Fingerprint to Protect Our Kids

If you’re a bus driver, a teacher, a firefighter, a health care worker, a National Guardsman, a day care worker … or one of dozens of other front-line professionals, you submit a fingerprint to do your job. One fingerprint protects everyone, but especially our kids. Fingerprinting is the only background check that accurately verifies the […]

G-PAC Illinois Launches Statewide Advertising Campaign To Pass BIO Bill

SPRINGFIELD – Today Gun Violence Prevention PAC (G-PAC) Illinois is launching the “Our One Job” campaign, a digital advertising and grassroots advocacy effort to pass the Block Illegal Ownership and Fix the FOID Bill (BIO Bill) and curb the flow of illegal guns that cause too many preventable gun violence tragedies. The ads highlight the importance of […]

Statement on Gun Violence Crisis

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact:  Kathleen Sances  847-920-4722. For now is the time for Legislators to show more than thoughts and prayers to keep Illinois children, families, and communities safe from deadly gun violence As Illinois begins to reopen, we are returning to tragic headlines about senseless acts of violence with guns. Eight people were […]

Women are leading the movement to end gun violence

Women’s history month is a time to highlight that gun violence is a women’s issue and women are leading the violence prevention movement. Here are some sobering statistics that highlight why gun violence is a women’s issue: Every month, an average of 53 women are shot and killed by an intimate partner. Illinois’ gun violence […]

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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.