Former President Joe Biden White House press office adviser Yemisi Egbewole on Sunday criticized Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Democratic Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson for their responses to the murder of college freshman Sheridan Gorman.
Pritzker blamed President Donald Trump for Gorman’s murder, allegedly at the hands of an illegal alien released twice under the Biden administration in 2023. Johnson, likewise, said the killing would not change his approach to governing. Egbewole asserted on “Fox News Live” that Pritzker’s offive released a good statement on the murder, but then he politicized it, while Johnson failed to respond sympathetically to Gorman’s family.
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“I think that the governor’s office — JB Pritzker — did a great job with his statement, calling it senseless outright, and hoping the accused goes to jail. I do think the tone, however, shifts when he brings it up in the political context,” Egbewole said. “I think you can address the grievances of the family without trying to appease the wider base that is worried about all immigrants being painted in a certain light. I think this should have just stayed directly on the grieving family and the tragic murder that happened.”
A spokesperson for Pritzker’s office told the Daily Caller News Foundation on Monday that Gorman’s murder was “senseless” and that they anticipated the alleged killer would face accountability, before criticizing the Trump administration for “politicizing heinous tragedies” rather than prioritizing solving violent crime.
Pritzker on Tuesday placed the blame on “national failures” and Trump while speaking to reporters.
“I think the mayor of Chicago, he has done a pretty terrible job of trying to address this in a way that is sympathetic to this family,” Egbewole added. “So I do think there has to be a bit of a balance here.”
Johnson called the killing a “tragedy” Wednesday while standing in front of a snowplow the public named “Abolish ICE” through a contest, reflecting widespread criticism of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“I’m going to continue to use every single tool that’s available to me to protect the residents of the city of Chicago,” the mayor said. “This tragedy is not going to deter us from our work. In fact, it’s going to challenge us all to double down on our efforts to ensure that we are protecting every single individual across neighborhoods.”
Pritzker and Johnson have both feuded with Trump as they opposed ICE operations in Chicago.
Jose Medina-Medina, a Venezuelan national, allegedly shot and killed Gorman near the Loyola University campus Thursday as she attempted to flee, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
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