Lake County Gazette

At the end of the day, Illinois House Republican candidate Dan Yost thinks his position in the growing defund the police debate is among the most sensible.

“I don’t believe that defunding our community police department makes our local families safer,” Yost, now running against incumbent state Rep. Joyce Mason (D-Gurnee) in the 61st District, told the Lake County Gazette. “Most law enforcement officers are good people who entered the field to help others and make a difference in the community, and that’s exactly what most of them do.”

The movement to defund police department is picking up support//momentum in the wake of the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on Memorial Day. Floyd's death sparked protests and violence across the country. Defunding the police, however, has been more about reducing budgetary allocations to those departments in favor of other programs such as public education.

Since then, Minneapolis City Council members have been among the first to broach the possibility of permanently doing away with their city's Police Department, and the idea quickly gained the support of U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) and more recently the leaders of the Chicago Public Schools.

Yost thinks there’s a better way.

“We should be focused on how we prepare officers to engage in the community and find ways to prevent those with a history of abusive behavior from simply moving along to another community,” he said.

The Republican also added he doesn’t see how Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot throwing their support behind a proposal that would require all officers to be licensed stands to make a difference. 

“I don’t see how another government licensing program is the answer here,” he said. “To me, the license seems like a knee jerk reaction designed to show action, but it isn’t meaningful. It’s just a way for politicians to say they did something.”

In the end, Yost said he feels communities truly coming together is the best way forward.

“What I have learned from these events is that many of us need to become better listeners because we can’t solve what we don’t understand,” he said. “Some of our neighbors live with a real and sincere fear for their children’s and spouse’s safety each and every day. I think we have to hear that and understand that and acknowledge that. A license isn’t going to fix this problem; we have to go deeper; we need to change hearts and minds. We need to stop screaming at each other. We need to listen. We need to review policy and identify meaningful changes. This situation calls for more than a quick fix.”