McLean County Times

State Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-Chambana) wants to see Democrats in Springfield get tough on crime across the state following the recent shooting death of Chicago officer Ella French.

“Another tragedy as a result of the so-called ‘Criminal Justice Reform’ movement,” Caulkins posted on Facebook. “How do the Democrats in the General Assembly and Gov. Pritzker justify the atmosphere of lawlessness they’ve created?”

By Caulkins’ count, 11 CPD officers have now been shot this year. In her third year on the force, the 29-year-old French was fatally wounded when gunmen opened fire as she and two other members of the department's Community Safety Team were in the process of conducting a routine traffic stop. Her partner was also hit and was initially listed in critical condition at the University of Chicago Medical Center.

Brothers Emonte and Eric Morgan are now being held without bond in connection with the attack, while Jamel Danzy, 29, faces federal firearms charges alleging he made a straw purchase of the semiautomatic weapon used in the attack.

Danzy has since been released on a $4,500 bond, raising the ire of Police Superintendent David Brown, who blasted his release as an “outrage.”

"When I heard this afternoon that a federal judge had released the man who illegally purchased and then supplied the gun used to murder Officer Ella French, I could not believe it," he said in a statement. "This decision sets a dangerous precedent that straw purchasers like Danzy are not a danger to society, despite the fact that his alleged actions directly led to the murder of a Chicago Police Officer and left another in critical condition."