Rep. Martin McLaughlin, R-Barrington Hills
(Barrington, IL) – Over the past three weeks, I’ve heard the words “threat” and “war” repeated hundreds—if not thousands—of times in the media. Too often, these words are used to describe efforts to protect innocent people in Chicago and other cities, as though the desire for safety itself has somehow become a problem. I firmly disagree.
Today, I am calling for something different: a Chicago Cease-Fire Weekend.
Saturday, September 13 should not be about threats. It should be about a promise—the promise of safety and security in every neighborhood, regardless of ZIP code or economic circumstance.
Let’s put politics aside. Republican, Democrat, Independent—it doesn’t matter. Let’s see if, together, we can make it through a single weekend without a shooting and without a murder. That is something every Chicagoan should expect, and something we should all strive for.
And if calling for peace, law, and order is somehow controversial, then we must ask: who is truly the problem? It’s not families, neighbors, or communities. It’s the criminals, the gangs, and the lenient policies that shield them—policies that now label offenders as “Justice Impacted Persons” while entire neighborhoods remain crime-impacted and violence-impacted generation after generation. It is long past time we put victims and communities first.
So today, I call on everyone—including those who too often pull the trigger—to stand down this weekend. Let’s get the Governor, the Mayor of Chicago and all elected officials who represent Chicago to walk the streets from dusk to dawn this weekend in a show of solidarity against crime and in support of safety for all Chicagoans. Religious leaders and other community leaders who oppose a federal solution should join together to demonstrate that they can come together to make the city safe. Let’s give Chicago a chance to breathe, a chance to hope, a chance to live. Safety is a Right not a Privilege!
Chicago Cease-Fire Weekend Starts Saturday September 13th. Together, let’s prove it can be done.
— State Representative Martin McLaughlin, 52nd District
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