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Announcing the 2021 Gun Safety Report Card

Today we launched a critical new tool in our fight to end gun violence, the 2021 Gun Safety Scorecard. For the first time, we have assembled a report card designed to show the constituent (you) how your legislators voted on life-saving public safety measures. The Gun Safety Report Card is the culmination of the work […]

A Note from our founder Tom Vanden Berk about 2021 Profile in Courage Awards

Thank you to those of you who were able to join us and support G-PAC’s Profile in Courage Award Ceremony this past Monday at Gibson’s Italia. Your continued support and partnership are what propels us in our work and mission. This year’s event was particularly special as G-PAC celebrated a historic legislative win by passing […]

UChicago Takes Aim at Chicago’s Persistent Cycle of Violence

Nationwide, the rate of deaths by gun violence this year alone is already forecast to reach the highest level in two decades — and Chicago is on pace to reach its highest annual homicide tally in 25 years. The UChicago Urban Network has long been studying violence and the many contributory factors to the problem […]

The Gun Violence Memorial Project – Get Involved with Keeping Memories Alive

Gun violence is a national epidemic that touches every community in America. The sheer scale of this epidemic often reduces victims of gun violence to statistics and ideas of change to empty promises. The Gun Violence Memorial Project launched at the 2019 Chicago Architecture Biennial. The exhibition features four houses built of 700 glass bricks, […]

Save the date for our annual Profile in Courage Award Ceremony

We are excited to announce G-PAC’s annual Profile in Courage Award Ceremony will be held on Monday, November 1st at Gibsons Italia with award-winning author and journalist, Alex Kotlowitz, as the keynote speaker. Please click here to RSVP and see the below invitation for further details. This year, we are honored to present the Profile […]

Welcome One Aim Illinois

We’re excited today to announce the relaunch of our partner GPEC/ICHV as One Aim Illinois!  One Aim is a statewide organization with one goal: ending gun violence in Illinois. The organization is led by survivors, community organizations, and people across the state and informed by evidence-based policy to reduce gun violence and save lives. Check […]

The National Rifle Association on Tuesday announced the cancellation of the organization’s 2021 annual meeting, which was scheduled to take place in Houston next week. In a statement, the organization wrote that the decision was made after reviewing data regarding COVID-19 in Harris County, which has rapidly spread among the region’s unvaccinated population over the […]

RELEASE: G-PAC’s Gun Violence Prevention Bill Signed Into Law By Governor Pritzker

-PAC Brings Gun Violence Prevention Advocates And Gun Owners Together To Enact Major Gun Violence Prevention Legislation SPRINGFIELD — Gun Violence Prevention PAC (G-PAC) Illinois today made major strides toward reducing gun violence, capitalizing on a multi-year advocacy campaign to deliver a major piece of gun violence prevention legislation that Governor JB Pritzker signed into […]

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1235 N Clybourn Ave Ste A246
Chicago, IL 60610 – 2435
Contact us: [email protected]
847-920-4722
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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.