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G-PAC Urges Illinoisans to Wear Orange on Gun Violence Awareness Day, Calls for Urgent Federal Action 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, June 2, 2022

G-PAC Urges Illinoisans to Wear Orange on Gun Violence Awareness Day, Calls for Urgent Federal Action 

Chicago — June is Gun Violence Awareness Month, and the Gun Violence Prevention PAC (G-PAC) is urging Illinoisans to wear orange in honor of those that we’ve lost to gun violence and is calling for urgent federal action to prevent more senseless deaths.

“The start of Gun Violence Awareness Month follows a tragic Memorial Day weekend where Chicago saw two mass shootings and at least a dozen more took place nationwide, highlighting the urgent and growing need for lawmakers to take action to end this public health epidemic,” said Tom Vanden Berk, Founder of G-PAC and a survivor of gun violence. “We urge Illinoisans to wear orange to honor the life of Hadiya Pendleton and show Congress that the American people are demanding urgent action that will keep people safe.”

The Wear Orange movement began in Chicago on June 2, 2015, to honor the life of Hadiya Pendleton, an innocent 15-year-old South Side resident who was tragically killed in January 2013 just days after performing at President Barack Obama’s inauguration. It sent shock waves across our country, and Hadiya’s friends organized to wear orange to remember her and to raise awareness about gun violence. Orange was the color of choice because hunters wear this color so they won’t be shot.

G-PAC is holding the gun lobby accountable and calling on Congress to pass federal legislation to protect communities from the tragic toll of gun violence.

“Let me be clear: the gun lobby is the enemy of progress in saving innocent lives. The NRA proceeded to hold a convention where they advocated for more permissive gun laws just days after 21 lives were taken too soon in the second deadliest school shooting in our nation,” continued Vanden Berk.

“We cannot let the funders of gun violence continue to take a free pass as families are torn apart every single day across our city, our state, and our country. For years Congress has been sending thoughts and prayers to the families and communities being devastated by gun violence without anything to show for it. It’s overdue time to take action and pass President Biden’s gun safety agenda to make America safe again.”

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About Gun Violence Prevention PAC (G-PAC)

The Gun Violence Prevention Political Action Committee (G-PAC) is the state’s leading gun violence advocacy organization. It was founded in 2013 to counter the political influence of the gun industry and their lobby in Springfield.

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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.