NW Illinois News

Li Arellano recently expressed concern over a tragic incident involving a recently-paroled individual who allegedly murdered a child and assaulted the child's mother. Arellano, who successfully outperformed two rivals in the primary, will be contesting in the upcoming general election.

"Law and order, justice, and public safety are critical issues," said Arellano, Candidate, according to Facebook. "This horrible tragedy could, and should, have been prevented."

Arellano voiced his concerns through a Facebook post, sharing a link from Senator Win Stoller's page that discussed the situation and provided a link to an article from The Center Square. "This tragedy could have been avoided," Stoller stated on his Facebook page. He further added, "For those who don’t know, Senate Republicans have been sounding the alarm for the past several years regarding the dangerous direction the Prisoner Review Board has taken under Governor Pritzker. Sadly, the Governor and his allies have ignored those concerns and now the unthinkable loss of an innocent child has occurred. The problems within the Prisoner Review Board go far beyond just one or two members; the Board as a whole is in need of serious reform."

Screenshot of Li Arrelano's March 28 Facebook post | Li Arellano for Senate Facebook page

The article from The Center Square highlighted comments from several Republicans criticizing recent issues with the Prisoner Review Board (PRB) under Governor J.B. Pritzker's leadership. The most recent PRB controversy involved Crosetti Brand, who was paroled and then allegedly killed an 11-year-old boy and stabbed his mother just one day after being released.

Senator Jason Plummer also expressed his dissatisfaction with PRB's management under Governor Pritzker's control. "He has politicized the process and he has tried to ram unqualified appointees through the Senate," Plummer said to The Center Square. He continued by saying, "When the Senate has objected, he has not worked with us. 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 PRB."

In the primary, Arellano faced two opponents, Tim Yager and Chris Bishop. According to Ballotpedia, Arellano secured 51.4% of the votes, while Yager received 31.9%, and Bishop garnered 16.7%.

After exposing widespread fraud in Dixon's city government, Arellano ran for mayor in 2015 and focused on restoring fiscal integrity, improving local infrastructure, and promoting economic development during his term. According to his website, after serving two terms as mayor and achieving his set objectives, Arellano adhered to the term limits he had pledged and decided not to run for a third term. Instead, he chose to return to the private sector. Currently, he owns two Jimmy John’s franchises, a frozen yogurt shop called the Frosted Spoon, and a commercial property leasing company. In addition to being a small business owner, Arellano serves as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army Reserves and is presently a squad leader with the 317th Engineer Construction Company in Homewood, IL.