Dupage Policy Journal

Republican Congressional candidate Jeanne Ives is demanding that U.S. Rep. Sean Casten (D-Downers Grove) stand up and do the right thing by condemning the growing move to defund our nation's police departments.

“For obvious reasons, this is a dangerous idea,” Ives, who is challenging Casten in the 6th Congressional District, told the DuPage Policy Journal. “We saw the anarchy that broke out in Chicago when police were overwhelmed. And we saw an estimated 2,000 people march peacefully in Wheaton last night, where there was a strong police presence. (Chicago Mayor) Lori Lightfoot, in fact, told reporters, ‘What I’ve heard from people in neighborhoods is that they want more police protection not less.”

Ives, a Wheaton resident, said she now wants to see Casten be responsible enough to do the same thing, arguing “it should take zero political courage.”

The great debate stems from the death of George Floyd in Minnesota on Memorial Day, which has led to protests and violence all across the country. Members of the Minneapolis City Council were among the first to broach the possibility of permanently doing away with its police department, with the measure gaining support from Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) and, more recently, Chicago Public Schools officials.

“Congressman Casten, who has failed to condemn violence in Chicago and looting in Downers Grove, needs to use his platform to disavow the radical idea being advocated by one of his Congressional colleagues,” Ives added.

Meanwhile, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has said what frustrated residents really want is change.

“They want fundamental change in the way that police operate,” he told the Chicago Tribune. “You have to think about, what are the methods by which people can be disciplined if they’re not going to get disciplined by their own police departments, if the investigations are taking place by a police department that may not want to hold some of their officers accountable for the kind of behavior that I think we would all find reprehensible.”

A growing number of Congressional Black Caucus members have called for a special session to deal with the issue of police accountability and social justice, but thus far legislative leaders have been noncommittal.