A 25 year old man was shot to death inside the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place hotel on Saturday night. He was at a birthday party with friends in the hotel lobby. When his mother arrived one hour later she was prevented from entering the building to see her son and was forced to watch the crime scene investigation from the window.
“Please let me see my son,” she yelled. “How did this happen? Here? This ain’t Englewood.”
That same night a 19 year old Loyola University student was critically wounded in a shooting on Clark street in the Rogers Park neighborhood on the far north side. She was walking to the store at 9:15 pm. Police say she was an unintended target.
A gun in the hands of a criminal knows no boundaries. Every life cut short in every community is a loss for us all. No community is immune from gun violence. This past week 56 people were shot and 9 were shot and killed.
We all agree that criminals and gang members should not have access to guns. Yet thousands of guns are illegally purchased or transferred in Illinois every year. We can stop this when we elect the leaders who will stand up to the gun lobby and vote to end this pipeline from gun dealer to criminal. This is our mission. We need your help.