Law and Order in Crisis: The Murder of Sheridan Gorman and the Debate Over Illegal Immigration in Chicago

Law and order" is not an abstract political slogan. Without it, you do not have a civilized society. When law and order breaks down, it is the innocent who pay the price first, whether they live on the South Side, Rogers Park or anywhere in Chicago that we call home. Without it, we do not have community. We have fear and chaos. Without it, we do not have justice. We have death and, in some cases, retaliation.

The streets of Chicago have long borne the scars of systemic neglect, but the recent murder of 18-year-old Sheridan Gorman has reignited a debate that cuts to the heart of American values. A Loyola University freshman from New York, Gorman was shot dead in cold blood by Jose Medina-Medina, a 25-year-old Venezuelan national who entered the U.S. illegally in 2023. Medina-Medina had prior arrests for shoplifting, yet he was released onto the streets—unvetted, unassimilated—because of policies that prioritize sanctuary status over the safety of law-abiding citizens. This is not an isolated tragedy. It is a symptom of a deeper rot.

This death comes exactly one year after the senseless killing of Katie Abraham, a 20-year-old Urbana, Illinois, woman who was struck by a truck driven by an undocumented immigrant traveling at 80 mph. For over a year, her father, Joe Abraham, pleaded with elected officials to address the dangers posed by sanctuary policies. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and others ignored him. They chose political correctness over public safety, valuing a perceived "virtue" of inclusivity over the lives of innocent people. Now, another young life has been lost.

To the families of Katie Abraham and Sheridan Gorman, my heart breaks with yours. I am praying for you and standing with you. This is not an isolated heartbreak. It is the fruit of a city—and a nation—that has allowed lawlessness to fester. On the South Side, we have lived with this for years: open-air drug markets, gang shootings that turn playgrounds into war zones, and politicians who lecture about "equity" while the body count rises.

The same lack of order that destroyed Black neighborhoods is now claiming the lives of young people from every background. Whether walking by the lake or crossing a street, no one should have to fear a bullet. Yet that fear is real, and it is growing. The infestation of lawlessness has spread beyond its original boundaries, proving that bad policy has no respect for ZIP codes or skin color.

Every Chicagoan deserves a city where the police are empowered, borders are respected, and criminals are put in prison instead of being released. That is exactly why I am still walking these streets and why I am pouring my life into building our Project H.O.P.E. community center on the South Side. I am not building another warehouse for excuses or government handouts. I am creating a place that teaches young people the God-given value of work, responsibility, and respect for the law.

I want to welcome free thinkers who understand that safety is not optional. No community can thrive when certain criminals are placed above the citizens they prey upon. American principles demand equal justice under the law, not justice for some and leniency for others based on political correctness.

To the families of Katie Abraham and Sheridan Gorman, my heart breaks with yours. I am praying for you and standing with you. And to every leader in my city of Chicago who still defends these sanctuary policies while our streets run with blood, I say: repent. Put the citizens first. Enforce the law without apology. Because until we do, the next victim could be any one of our children, walking any street, at any time.