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Now is the time for the Governor to Act – Stop Illegal Gun Trafficking in IL

Rauner needs to do more than talk—and veto—on gun violence GREG HINZ ON POLITICS http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180426/BLOGS02/180429892/rauner-needs-to-do-more-than-talk-x2014-and-veto-x2014-on-gun If you go to a store and drop an expensive piece of crystal, the rule is the same the world over: you just bought it, pony up. That’s pretty much my sentiment about how Gov. Bruce Rauner is promising some new […]

Endorsed Gun Safety Candidates Win IL Primary

Tuesday was a good day for gun safety. We are pleased to congratulate our 11 endorsed gun safety champions on their victory in the primary for the Illinois General Assembly. Each of these candidates have demonstrated a strong commitment to life-saving gun violence prevention policies. The voters have spoken up loudly in favor of safer communities. G-PAC […]

SB 1657 Vote this Week. Your One Call-Our One Job

No school, no community and no city is immune to the horror of gun violence. Every day we fail to enact common-sense gun reforms in Illinois is another day children and families have to live in fear. Illinois lawmakers are set to vote next week on legislation that would require gun dealers to follow simple […]

Our One Job #YesOnSB1657

Here lie 17 teens at the Capitol representing the 17 victims shot and killed in Parkland Florida. They lay there for 3 minutes. Why? Because that was how long it took the shooter to buy his gun. No state and no community are immune to the horrors of gun violence. All of us who fight […]

G-PAC & Giffords Endorse Gun Safety Champions for the Illinois General Assembly

This past week has been filled with tragedies due to gun violence. We lost Chicago Police Commander Paul Bauer, shot and killed by a felon with a gun with an extended magazine clip at the Thompson Center. Yesterday, we witnessed yet another school shooting where 17 individuals were killed in Florida. Sadly, that shooting occurred […]

We Must Do Better – LA Times

Five years on, we’re still waiting for Sandy Hook to change the gun debate http://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-sandy-hook-massacre-nra-gun-policy-20171214-story.html Five years ago today, Adam Lanza shot and killed his mother in Newtown, Conn., then took two semiautomatic handguns and a semiautomatic rifle from her cache of firearms to massacre 20 children and six staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Of course, […]

State’s Attorney Calls for State Licensing of Gun Dealers

“This city is awash in guns, and we seem to accept that as a truth that people cannot change,” she said. That apathy can extend to attitudes toward mass shootings, she said, such as the Sunday night attack in Las Vegas that killed at least 59 people and wounded more than 500. “Every time something […]

Let’s NOT Be That State

The Illinois gun lobby thinks they can pass dangerous legislation out of committee while we are busy with family and friends over the weekend. Not on our our watch! On Monday at 9:30 am, the House Judiciary Committee will consider a bill that encourages the 115th United States Congress to pass House Resolution 38 to […]

Do You Stand With The Gun Lobby or Us?

The Illinois Senate voted to hold bad gun dealers accountable and make Illinois safer. Now, ask your State Rep: Do you stand with us or the gun lobby?

Join The G-PAC Next Gen

Our Mission The Next Generation (NG) Board is part of the emerging generation of diverse, young leaders who support the Gun Violence Prevention PAC (G-PAC) and it’s mission to end gun violence. We work to raise awareness of the threat gun violence poses in Illinois. NG assists the Board of Directors with its work raising […]

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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.