Lake County Gazette

Chris Kasperski isn’t bashful about expressing his displeasure with a policy enacted by Gov. J.B. Pritzker that allows violent felons facing deportation to be set free before having to meet with ICE authorities.

“This policy is atrocious,” Kasperski, running against longtime incumbent state Sen. Melinda Bush (D-Grayslake) in the 31st District, told the Lake County Gazette. “The governor's job is to enforce the law and have the public's safety as his top priority. Instead, he has chosen to put the public at risk to satisfy a group of people who are not his constituents by the simple fact that they are here illegally.”

The change in policy was made publicly known by members of the Illinois Sheriff’s Association, including Livingston County Sheriff Mike Downey equating the new procedures with giving ex-inmates a "head start to evade federal law."

Up until now, whenever convicted felons here illegally were set to be released ICE authorities were contacted after they had served their time.

“The governor's policy of turning a blind eye as convicted illegal immigrants are released back into society without any notice to the immigration authorities is off base,” Kasperski added. “With the rate of recidivism as high as it is, the governor will inevitably have allowed Illinoisans to become victimized again. This also poses a danger to law enforcement officials throughout the state. It is outrageous that the governor would put our citizens and those charged with protecting them in further peril for political purposes.”

According to the Dispatch-Argus, a spokesperson from the governor’s office described the policy switch as a “pause in corrections' interactions" with ICE while the administration conducts a procedural review.

Again, Kasperski isn’t buying it.

“The lack of communication of this policy change from the governor's office suggests to me that the governor's office knew that this would be controversial and they sought to minimize its importance,” he said. “The governor's office is intentionally tying the police's hands behind their back on this, as he has forbidden them from cooperating with federal authorities upon the release of these inmates. This demonstrates that public safety will take a back seat to politics.”