Illinois House Minority Leader Tony McCombie released the following statement in response to Governor JB Pritzker’s recent remarks:
“Governor Pritzker’s rhetoric has crossed a dangerous line. In July, he rightly declared, ‘Violence is never the answer in our democracy.’ Yet now, he calls for mass disruption, declares that Republicans ‘cannot know a moment of peace,’ and urges Americans to ‘become street fighters.’ These are not the words of a unifier—they are the words of someone willing to trade principle for power.
“In a time when political violence has already taken a terrible toll on this country, such inflammatory language is reckless, irresponsible and just dangerous. Disagreement in a democracy must never justify dehumanization or threats of unrest. Leaders set the tone. If we normalize this kind of dangerous escalation, we risk eroding the very democratic foundations we claim to protect.”