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Category: News

G-PAC Profile In Courage Event – Young Professionals – October 18, 2018

BUY YOUR TICKETS ONLINE PLEASE JOIN US AT OUR NEXT PROFILE IN COURAGE EVENT DATE: Thursday, October 18, 2018 TIME: 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. LOCATION: JOY DISTRICT – 112 W Hubbard Street, Chicago RSVP: Click here to RSVP TICKETS: $50 SPONSORSHIP LEVELS: $250 – Gold YP $100 – Silver YP BUY YOUR TICKETS ONLINE

Paper Tiger Award Ceremony – September 19, 2016

Please join our Event Chair Secretary Arne Duncan for the 2016 Paper Tiger Award presentation honoring Father Michael Pfleger.   DATE: Monday, September 19, 2016 TIME: 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. LOCATION: THE DAWSON – 730 West Grand Avenue, Chicago, IL 60654 RSVP: Online or at 847.920.4722 TICKETS: $250 SPONSORSHIP LEVELS:  $10,000 – Event Sponsor $5,000 – Platinum […]

What’s the root cause of Chicago’s gun violence crisis? Guns.

Dueling op-eds published last week considered whether a “war on guns” — namely tougher mandatory sentences for repeat gun offenders — is the right strategy for combating Chicago’s gun violence epidemic. Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez argues that the “revolving [prison] door” for gun offenders is to blame for Chicago’s gun violence. Public Defender […]

Disarm Hate – August 18, 2016

BUY YOUR TICKETS ONLINE Please join the Gun Violence Prevention PAC for a discussion of how gun safety advocates and the LGBTQ community can join forces to demand our public officials protect our communities from gun violence. DATE: Thursday, August 18, 2016 TIME: 7:00 p.m. LOCATION: Weinberg/Newton Gallery – 300 W. Superior Street, Suite 203, Chicago, IL […]

G-PAC Young Professionals Reception – April 25

RSVP & BUY YOUR TICKETS ONLINE DATE: April 25, 2016 TIME: 5:30pm LOCATION: Haymarket Pub & Brewery – 737 W Randolph St, Chicago, IL 60661 TICKETS: $50 SPONSORSHIP LEVELS:  $250 – Host $500 – Friend $1000 – Sponsor $2500 – Chair   RSVP & BUY YOUR TICKETS ONLINE

Chicago Teen In Anti-Violence Video Critically Wounded In Shooting

CHICAGO (Reuters) – A Chicago teenager who appeared in an award-winning anti-violence video was in critical condition in a hospital on Sunday after he was shot in the back by a stray bullet near his home on Chicago’s West Side, police and local media said. Zarriel Trotter, 13, who police said was shot Friday night, […]

2018 Primary Voter Guide

G-PAC, and Giffords, the gun safety organization founded by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and Captain Mark Kelly, announced their joint endorsement of 12 gun safety champions for the Illinois General Assembly. Each of these candidates has demonstrated a strong commitment to gun violence prevention policies that help keep guns out of the wrong hands and […]

G-PAC Announces Endorsements for March Primary Elections

Voters to help combat gun violence across the state of Illinois with the support of G-PAC  CHICAGO (March 2, 2016) – More than 40 candidates have received the official endorsement by the Gun Violence Prevention Political Action Committee (G-PAC) this week. Created by gun safety advocates and shooting victims outraged by the questionable influence of […]

Illegal Guns and Chicago Crime Numbers

Mitchell: Time to make some noise about Chicago crime Read full story here at the Chicago Sun-Times The homicide figures for January were staggering: 51 murders and 292 gunshot victims. “It is totally unacceptable the violence that we saw, but we do know that the majority of the violence that we saw was gang related […]

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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.