Those who honorably served our country it seems were not a priority for the Democrats. Not when 36 veterans living at the LaSalle Veterans home died during a preventable COVID-19 outbreak. It was found they lost their lives because the politically appointed inexperienced former Director, failed to take appropriate action even as the Governor was providing guidance to the rest of the state.
Equally as egregious are the deaths of children in the care of the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). The agency charged with caring for kids has continually fallen short in big ways. While Governor Pritzker points a finger at previous administrations for past failures, one thing is certain, the ball has been squarely in his court for the last three years. Yet, children continue to die on his watch.
The latest victim of the state’s appalling failure to protect the vulnerable was 19-month old Sophia Davis. She was beaten to death allegedly by her father’s girlfriend – just one month after a DCFS investigator determined a previous report of child abuse against the girlfriend was “unfounded.”
Horrifically, Sophia is not the only child failed by DCFS. Over the past three months alone, two other children, Damari Perry and Zaraz Walker were killed AFTER reports were made to DCFS.
What’s more, current DCFS Director Marc Smith has been held in contempt of court six times so far this year for failing to put children under the state’s care in proper placements. He allowed children to languish beyond medical necessity in psychiatric hospitals. Smith has held the Director position for three years, and yes, he is still Director. Clearly, it has been a Democrat priority to keep him there.
And, there’s more. Financially struggling families found their electric rate increases were caused by a vote in the legislature led by the then Speaker of the House Michael Madigan. Madigan is alleged to have taken bribes to ensure passage of the legislation that would increase electric rates. He was recently indicted on federal racketeering, bribery, and corruption charges. It appears his only priority was himself, not Illinois families.
Where was the Democrat majority on the allegations against Madigan? While House Republicans led the charge to investigate Madigan’s corrupt enterprise, demanding the creation of a Special Investigating Committee, House Democrats appointed Madigan loyalists to the Committee that ultimately shut down the investigation. Staying in Madigan’s good graces was a priority for House Democrats.
Finally, the escalating violence and crime plaguing our communities is a consequence of tunnel vision and a single focused Democrat priority. The Democrats leading the House committee responsible for crime prevention have placed a moratorium on new laws and instead have focused solely on improving the rights of prisoners, expunging criminal records, and expanding parole at the expense of public safety. Apparently, they can’t do both, choosing to ignore public safety.
If the Democrats who currently control the House, Senate, and the Governor’s mansion were really interested in protecting the most vulnerable Illinois families, wouldn’t they have done so? Their interests have clearly been elsewhere: Drawing maps to eliminate dissenting voices and protecting their political power base.