GOP lawmakers take issue with Pritzker’s comments after Rittenhouse
verdict
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[November 24, 2021]
By Kevin Bessler
(The Center Square) – Several downstate
Illinois lawmakers are blasting Gov. J.B. Pritzker for his comments
following the Kyle Rittenhouse not guilty verdicts.
A Wisconsin jury acquitted the 18-year-old from Antioch, Illinois, on
charges stemming from killing two men and wounding another during unrest
last year, finding he acted in self-defense.
Pritzker issued a statement following the not guilty verdicts.
"Carrying a loaded gun into a community 20 miles from your home and
shooting unarmed citizens is fundamentally wrong. It's a tragedy that
the court could not acknowledge that basic fact."
State Reps. Adam Niemerg, R-Dieterich; Brad Halbrook, R-Shelbyville; Dan
Caulkins, R-Decatur; and Chris Miller, R-Oakland called the remarks
irresponsible and dangerous.
"It is unbelievable to me to think that he can unilaterally preside over
a case and say guilty or innocent when he has no idea of the evidence,
no idea of what has happened in this particular instance,” said Niemerg.
In a written statement, the four lawmakers called the governor’s
comments beyond reprehensible.
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"The real tragedy here is that Illinois has a reckless, thoughtless
governor who puts far-left politics ahead of the Constitution and ahead
of the rights of citizens of this state.”
It is not the first time a Democrat has voiced displeasure with the
verdict.
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![](../images/112421pics/news_a61.jpg)
Gov. J.B. Pritzker speaks at an event in Dixmoor on Wednesday, Oct.
6, 2021.
Courtesy of Facebook
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Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot accused the judge in the
trial of shaping the evidence that was getting presented to the
jury.
"I'm an old trial lawyer, and I know when I see a judge putting his
thumb on a scale for a particular results, I was not at all
surprised,” she said. “Did he do well excluding evidence, now
allowing the deceased to be called victims, not letting certain
things go?”
On Monday, Mary Lemanski, social media manager for the Democratic
Party of DuPage County, was forced out after posing a series of
tweets comparing Rittenhouse to the driver of the SUV that plowed
into a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin.
"It was probably just self-defense #Wisconsin #KyleRittenhouse,”
Lemanski tweeted about the tragedy that left 5 dead and dozens
injured.
Lemanski later made a statement on Facebook.
“I realize how hateful and hurtful my comments were, and I am truly
sorry for the division and suffering I have caused. As a person who
is generally always working for peace and harmony, I am ashamed of
my behavior, and I hope the people of Waukesha will find healing and
peace in the wake of this horrible event.”
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