Sen. Neil Anderson (R-Moline) joined GOP colleagues to talk about the need for public safety. | Facebook/Senator Neil Anderson
Sen. Neil Anderson (R-Moline) joined GOP colleagues to talk about the need for public safety. | Facebook/Senator Neil Anderson
Several Republican lawmakers in Illinois have spoken out against recent violence in the Prairie State and the need to take action to give law enforcement the tools to better protect the public and themselves.
State Sen. Neil Anderson (R-Moline) and four of his GOP colleagues in the Senate held a press conference about the issue on Oct. 20.
"Public safety is very important to me, mostly because of my job as a professional firefighter, but one of the things that's been frustrating is that Friday I'll be back on duty for another 24-hour shift and I guarantee you I'm going to go on a call that involves violence. That's not unique, but what is getting to be more prominent is that we're going out on these calls time and time again with the same people," Anderson said in a Facebook Live video that was posted by the Illinois Senate Republican Caucus.
Anderson said recidivism is "at an all-time high" but the good news is they can fix it.
"This package that we're putting forward will do just that," Anderson said in the video. "I'm tired of hearing that we need to be mindful of the criminal. We need to start being mindful of the victims and our law enforcement."
Earlier this month, fellow Republican Sen. Chapin Rose (R-Mahomet) unveiled legislation called the Fund the Police Act, which he said would give law enforcement the financial means to do their jobs and cut down on crime, according to a report by the Chambana Sun.
"The Fund the Police Act will put resources where they are needed most: getting more boots on the ground to fight violent crime, funding police training, incentivizing the hiring and retention of police officers, helping to offset local governments' police overtime costs and helping to tackle mental health issues, which contribute to the overall problem," Rose said in a statement on his website.
In other actions, three months ago Anderson announced $350,000 in funding to help keep the 100-year-old Fidelity-Drives Building in Fulton operating as a community center, according to NW Illinois News.
Anderson also thanked and honored his fellow EMS workers in May during National Emergency Medical Services Week, NW Illinois News reported.
He said as a paramedic he understands what other EMS workers endure in a sometimes "thankless job."
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