- Published: Friday, November 19, 2021 06:04 PM
CHICAGO – Following the not guilty verdict of Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse, State Senator Cristina Pacione-Zayas (D-Chicago) issued the following statement:
“On August 25, 2020, Kyle Rittenhouse traveled from our state into Wisconsin to access a deadly weapon and shot two people. Today, a jury found him not guilty of the charges brought against him.
“I am deeply disappointed, yet not surprised, to witness the court reach this decision. It doesn‘t escape me how the process and outcome would likely be radically different for people of color, namely Black men and women, who are rarely granted the right to a trial, let alone a fair trial.
While the perpetrator might have been in Wisconsin, his roots lie here in Illinois. The trial might have been in Wisconsin, but the broken criminal legal system that protects White faces at the cost of Black lives is also present here in Illinois. The victims were shot in Wisconsin, but the failure of justice their families face today is felt by countless families here in Illinois.
All across this country, we must take responsibility for the society and systems that caused this verdict because it goes beyond a trial. Today like too many days before serves as a reminder. We must renew our commitment to work in community, to build a justice system worthy of its name.
“My thoughts are with the loved ones of the two young men killed that day, Anthony Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum, as well as Jacob Blake who also lives with a permanent reminder that justice was failed today.”
