Dupage Policy Journal

Rice recently addressed the tragic death of Rob and Kathy Zander's son due to a 'fentanyl homicide' and criticized what he perceives as the 'growing list of failures' by our elected federal officials in a social media post. Rice, who is set to challenge incumbent Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi in the general election, delved into the impact of fentanyl on society and shared a link to a YouTube video.

"American citizens need to wake up and decide whether to keep compromised politicians in leadership who sold out our safety and security and continue this deadly path we are on that is literally wiping out future generations of American citizens," said Mark Rice, Candidate, according to Facebook. "The derelict career politicians in DC and this corrupt administration has and continues to allow deadly fentanyl and other illicit dangerous drugs to pour into our communities because our border is wide open."

According to his Facebook post, Rice stated, "This illicit drug is coming from China and going to the Mexican cartels, where they are smuggling it into the US killing now upwards of 350 people per day. The smuggling is occurring because of failed Democrat open border and sanctuary city policies that coddle illegal criminals. Basically, the Democrat policies under this rogue Biden Administration has sent a green light signal to the evil cartels over the last few years, who have only been emboldened to continue their robust drug and human trafficking racket."

Screenshot of Mark Rice for Congress April 2 Facebook post. | Mark Rice for Congress Facebook page

In his Facebook post, Rice also shared a link to a Youtube video where he engaged in conversation with Kathy and Rob Zander, parents of John Allen who died from a fentanyl overdose in July 2016. According to his parents, Allen was a victim of drug-induced homicide. The Zanders spoke with Rice in an extensive 45-minute YouTube video uploaded on April 1. To raise awareness about the fentanyl/opiate poisoning epidemic, they established a nonprofit ministry/charity called My Child’s Life Matters.

Kathy Zander said during their discussion, "If you’re losing 350 people a day from fentanyl… whatever precursor they’re using to make that fentanyl, everybody is failing. I mean, the main people that are failing is the government because they’re the ones that can control this. Federal and state too because I think if you look at the cities where the biggest hub of fentanyl drug-related homicides are, they’re going to be California, Chicago, New York, all Sanctuary cities, places where there’s a free flow of people. Things like here in Illinois, we have the SAFE-T Act, which you know, basically made every offense a non-jailable offense here including fentanyl."

Rice's campaign for the 8th Congressional District emphasizes key issues such as promoting economic growth, upholding fiscal responsibility, enacting tax relief and addressing matters related to immigration reform and border security. Rice has resided in Illinois for 35 years and currently holds the position of CEO at Energy CX. This role has established him as a significant figure in the energy sector where he manages a team of 70 individuals. The 8th Congressional District includes northern Cook County, northern DuPage County and northeast Kane County is presently represented by U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.).