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G-PAC ILLINOIS & GIFFORDS PAC ENDORSE CANDIDATES IN CONTESTED STATE LEGISLATIVE PRIMARY RACES 

For Immediate Release                                    
February 2, 2026

G-PAC ILLINOIS & GIFFORDS PAC ENDORSE CANDIDATES IN CONTESTED STATE LEGISLATIVE PRIMARY RACES 
Endorsed Candidates Hold Proven Experience on Gun Safety Work 

CHICAGO – The Gun Violence Prevention PAC of Illinois (G-PAC), the state’s leading gun violence prevention advocacy organization, and GIFFORDS PAC, the national gun safety organization founded by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, announced today joint endorsements in several contested state legislative races ahead of the March primary election. 

G-PAC and GIFFORDS PAC endorsed several incumbents and first-time candidates: 

  • Sen. Sara Feigenholtz (D-6)
  • Sen. Emil Jones III (D-14) 
  • Rep. Jaime Andrade (D-40)
  • Rep. Kam Buckner (D-26)
  • Rep. Lilian Jiménez (D-4)
  • Rep. Aaron Ortiz (D-1)
  • Candidate Cleopatra Cowley, House District 34 
  • Candidate Shantel Franklin, House District 8

“We are ready to help elect gun safety champions to office who are committed to protecting more children, teens, families and communities from gun violence,” said Kathleen Sances, G-PAC President & CEO. “This year’s election is another critical moment to continue cementing Illinois’ place as a leader in gun violence prevention by electing candidates who will stand up to the gun lobby and vote to save lives.”

“The legislative leaders we’re endorsing today have shown they have the grit and determination needed to get things done in Springfield,” said former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. “With so much chaos coming out of Washington DC, Illinois needs leaders who will step up and continue to pass real solutions that reduce crime and protect our communities. I’m proud to join our partners at G-PAC in endorsing champions who I know will do just that. Together, we can get the job done.”

As legislators, Andrade, Buckner, Jiménez, Ortiz, Feigenholtz and Jones have maintained G-PAC’s “A” rating year over year for voting to support gun safety measures before the General Assembly, including stronger laws on safe gun storage, lost and stolen weapon reporting, and a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. In addition, Bucker was the lead sponsor on Illinois’ ban on untraceable ghost guns and the Illinois Homicide Data Transparency Act, which requires law enforcement agencies to make public detailed data on homicides and shootings.

As a candidate for the Illinois House, Cowley has fought through the devastation that gun violence inflicts when her daughter, Hadiya Pendleton, was shot and killed in a case of mistaken identity in Chicago in 2013. Her death came only days after performing at the second inauguration of President Barack Obama. Cowley has put her grief into action by creating an organization to support survivors of gun violence and now by taking the step to serve in public office and pass meaningful legislation to protect other families from the tragedies of gun violence.

Also running for Illinois House, Franklin has experienced the loss of family members and friends from gun violence, including just recently a neighbor’s tragic death only two doors down from her home. Franklin has taken her personal experience and put it into action while working for Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul. At the Attorney General’s Office, Franklin helped advance numerous gun safety measures, including mandatory crime-gun tracing, safe gun storage, enforcement of FOID laws and Firearm Restraining Orders, and Illinois’ assault-weapons and high-capacity magazine ban.

Since 2015, G-PAC and GIFFORDS PAC have joined together to endorse legislative candidates in Illinois as part of their mission to elect more champions to office to enact common sense gun safety measures and save lives. G-PAC and GIFFORDS PAC previously announced support for Illinois House candidate Adam Braun in House District 13. 

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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.