SPRINGFIELD – State Representatives Adam Niemerg (R-Dieterich); Brad Halbrook (R-Shelbyville); Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur); and Chris Miller (R-Oakland) are issuing the following statement on Governor JB Pritzker calling the Rittenhouse verdict a “tragedy.”
“Governor Pritzker’s remarks on the Rittenhouse verdict are beyond reprehensible. The right of self-defense is a basic right of all Americans regardless of age, race, creed, or gender. To suggest that these rights should be stripped from an individual simply on the basis of perceived political differences is wrong and goes against the values we as Americans hold dear. The reason we have the right to bear arms is because our founding fathers understood the importance of self-defense for a free society and intentionally enshrined this right in our Constitution.
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Furthermore, our Constitution grants a presumption of innocence for anyone accused of a crime. The job of the prosecution is to prove someone’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The prosecution failed to prove Kyle Rittenhouse committed a crime and the jury had no choice but to render a ‘Not Guilty’ verdict on all five counts against Rittenhouse.
For the Governor to call the verdict into question is reckless and invites more unrest on our city streets and undermines confidence in our judicial system.
Finally, Kyle Rittenhouse is a resident of Illinois. He deserves better than to be pronounced guilty by a Governor who was not a juror in the trial and not in a position to determine guilt or innocence. The real tragedy here is that Illinois has a reckless, thoughtless Governor who puts far-left politics ahead of the Constitution and ahead of the rights of citizens of this state.”
