Less than two hours after six people were killed and dozens more were injured in a mass shooting during a parade in Highland Park, Illinois, Darren Bailey, the Republican candidate for governor in the state’s 2022 election, said that it was time to “move on” and continue Fourth of July celebrations elsewhere.
Bailey, a state senator and Trump-endorsed candidate who was selected by Republicans in last week’s GOP primary contest, later apologized for his statement.
The shooting occurred in the Chicago suburb just after 10 am during a parade in the city. Several videos shared on social media show paradegoers running for cover as gunshots ring out in the background. The suspected gunman, Robert Crimo III, was taken into custody several hours after the shooting.
As many political figures were expressing their condolences to the victims of the shooting and their families, Bailey suggested that it was time to continue Fourth of July revelries — even before Crimo was apprehended.
“Let’s pay for justice to prevail, and then let’s move on and let’s celebrate the independence of this nation,” Bailey said in a Facebook livestream. In the video, Bailey is surrounded by his supporters, who hold campaign signs bearing his name.
After receiving backlash for his comments, Bailey apologized for “diminish[ing] the pain” felt by those who were affected by the shooting.
“My intent was to pray for the victims and those affected by today’s tragedy and for the shooter to be caught and prosecuted without further loss,” Bailey said.
The GOP gubernatorial candidate offered little in terms of how to prevent or respond to mass shootings. Instead, Bailey pushed for increases in policing, a method that policy experts say will not prevent more mass shootings.
Prior to Monday, there had been 306 mass shootings documented in the U.S. since the start of 2022. Gun violence in general is also remarkably high this year, with 10,072 people across the country dying as the result of accidental or purposeful shootings just halfway through 2022.
Last month, following a spate of horrific mass shootings (including at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York), Congress passed a bipartisan gun bill, which was signed into law by President Joe Biden. However, gun reform advocates have noted that the law lacks many of the measures they’ve called for, and notably, the legislation contains several provisions that will likely lead to increases in criminalization and the bloating of police budgets.
We’re not backing down in the face of Trump’s threats.
As Donald Trump is inaugurated a second time, independent media organizations are faced with urgent mandates: Tell the truth more loudly than ever before. Do that work even as our standard modes of distribution (such as social media platforms) are being manipulated and curtailed by forces of fascist repression and ruthless capitalism. Do that work even as journalism and journalists face targeted attacks, including from the government itself. And do that work in community, never forgetting that we’re not shouting into a faceless void – we’re reaching out to real people amid a life-threatening political climate.
Our task is formidable, and it requires us to ground ourselves in our principles, remind ourselves of our utility, dig in and commit.
As a dizzying number of corporate news organizations – either through need or greed – rush to implement new ways to further monetize their content, and others acquiesce to Trump’s wishes, now is a time for movement media-makers to double down on community-first models.
At Truthout, we are reaffirming our commitments on this front: We won’t run ads or have a paywall because we believe that everyone should have access to information, and that access should exist without barriers and free of distractions from craven corporate interests. We recognize the implications for democracy when information-seekers click a link only to find the article trapped behind a paywall or buried on a page with dozens of invasive ads. The laws of capitalism dictate an unending increase in monetization, and much of the media simply follows those laws. Truthout and many of our peers are dedicating ourselves to following other paths – a commitment which feels vital in a moment when corporations are evermore overtly embedded in government.
Over 80 percent of Truthout‘s funding comes from small individual donations from our community of readers, and the remaining 20 percent comes from a handful of social justice-oriented foundations. Over a third of our total budget is supported by recurring monthly donors, many of whom give because they want to help us keep Truthout barrier-free for everyone.
You can help by giving today. Whether you can make a small monthly donation or a larger gift, Truthout only works with your support.