CHICAGO — Republicans are fighting across the state to make our communities safer, something Gov. Pritzker has simply failed to do. After multiple resignations on the state’s Parole Review Board, Republicans like Sen. Jason Plummer are fighting to depoliticize the process.

Take a look at the coverage from Center Square:

“He has politicized the process and he has tried to ram unqualified appointees through the Senate. When the Senate has objected, he has not worked with us,” Plummer told The Center Square. “This tragic event that happened is a perfect example of what we warned the governor would happen if he continued down this reckless path that he’s been dead set on following since he took office when it comes to the PRB.”
…Max Cerda, another board member, was convicted of a double murder when he was 16 years old and was appointed by Pritzker in March 2021.

“Historically, if you look at the PRB, under [former governors] Blagojevich, Quinn and Rauner, the voting under the PRB, the voting stayed relatively consistent,” said Plummer. “Under Pritzker, he started withholding some of the appointees and not allowing them to go before the Senate for confirmation. We noticed the voting patterns on the PRB changed dramatically. They were letting people out at a much more aggressive pace and at a higher rate. When we started asking questions about votes that were cast, questions about the appointees, Pritzker started playing games.”

Cerda, while on the PRB, voted to let out a convicted cop killer whom Cerda actually served time with in prison.

Another controversial appointee of Pritzker’s was Oreal James, who Plummer said voted to release multiple cop killers.
…After Miller and Shelton resigned Monday, Pritzker said he’s committed to ensuring additional safeguards and training are in place to prevent tragedies like this week’s from happening again.

“If you want tragedies like this to not happen again, you can’t let people like Pritzker appoint unqualified people to this board,” said Plummer.