Key word missing from Irvin’s crime reduction policy

Can GOP gubernatorial candidate Richard Irvin possibly find the bottom to his meaningless pronouncements on reducing Illinois crime?

He’s railing against the SAFE-T act that Governor Pritzker got passed in January, 2021, which will implement policing and criminal justice reforms needed to improve both in poor, minority communities. Even most law enforcement organizations have softened their opposition, realizing the reforms will neither hurt policing nor increase crime. They concur it will not reduce policing resources.

But Irvin and his Republican gubernatorial challengers falsely claim SAFE-T will increase crime by defunding the police. Irvin stock soundbite is that SAFE-T “will handcuff the police instead of criminals”, without offering an iota of evidence. Even more distressing is that, based on his previous view of SAFE-T, he was for it as Aurora Mayor before he was against it as GOP gubernatorial candidates.

Asked how he would reduce Illinois crime, Irvin replied he’d provide the police with “resources and backing.” How will he provide resources when his other primary campaign pledge is cutting taxes and spending to the bone?

But proof Irvin has no plan whatsoever to reduce violent crime plaguing Chicago, Illinois; indeed the country, is his refusal to utter the one word on everyone’s lips except the 2nd Amendment zealots clustered in the GOP voter base Irvin must win over: Guns.