SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (NEXSTAR) — Under current state law, a politician convicted for felony crimes while in office could still qualify to seek a state office again.
House Democrat Curtis Tarver (D-Chicago) said the state should tighten the election laws to make sure any former public officials who were convicted for bribery or corruption while in office should be barred from ballots in the future.
“Individuals who just make very poor choices, they should not be able to run for office again,” Tarver said.
Tarver, a vocal advocate for greater police reform and accountability, questioned whether adding more police officers would necessarily result in safer streets.
“We have typically, I think in Chicago 13 thousand cops, as far as sworn officers, whatever, right? We’re no safer than we were when there were 7000 officers,” Tarver said.
“You can look at that statistically. That’s a fact. So, just putting more officers on the street does not automatically make us safe. It sounds great as a talking point. It allays some concerns, I think, in very specific demographics. But folks like myself, who live on the south side of Chicago, know — I have additional police… I have the second-largest police force in Illinois, in the University of Chicago, patrolling my area as well. And guess what? I have two or three murders within a half a block from my office. So just adding more police, I don’t think, is enough,” Tarver continued.
“We all need more opportunities in our communities to keep these kids engaged,” Tarver said.
