Lake County Gazette

Illinois state Rep. David McSweeney (R-Barrington Hills) thinks lawmakers in Springfied should get serious about fighting violent crime by bringing back the state death penalty.

“Illinois lawmakers must take strong steps to combat the high rate of violent crime in our state,” McSweeney said in a post to Facebook. “That's why I'm leading the charge to bring back the death penalty in Illinois. It's time to get tough on crime.”

Eight years after state lawmakers moved to ban capital punishment in Illinois, McSweeney, a member of the House Revenue & Finance Committee; Consolidation & Tax Subcommittee; Local Government Subcommittee and Property Tax Subcommittee, is pushing for lawmakers to follow the lead of 29 other states in having the law on the books.

“I believe Illinois continues to have a major problem with violent crime,” he told MyStateline.com. “I do believe that technology has improved. I believe that DNA technology specifically will make it much better to ensure that there are absolutely no cases of mistaken convictions.”

While McSweeney has faced criticism from people like Illinois Innocence Project Executive Director John Hanlon about advancing his tough-on-crime persona for political gain in a potential statewide run, he insists it’s all about making Illinois a better and safer place to live. After serving in Springfield since 2013, McSweeney recently announced he will not be seeking a fifth term and instead is entertaining the thought of running for statewide office.

According to the Chicago Tribune, under consideration are runs against first-term Democratic state Sen. Tammy Duckworth or a campaign to replace six-term Democratic Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White.

McSweeney’s 52nd House District is located within Cook, Lake, McHenry and Kane counties and includes Cary and Barrington.