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Cicero President calls for tougher laws to protect police officers

Cicero, IL — Town of Cicero President Larry Dominick, a former career police officer, urged the Illinois Legislature to adopt tougher laws to punish individuals who injure or kill Police Officers and to reinstate the Illinois death penalty.

Dominick, said he and many members of the public are outraged and angered by the killing of another on-duty police officer, this time the murder of Oak Park Police Detective Allan Reddins who was responding to a report of a suspect with a gun leaving a bank Friday morning.

Having served 20 years as a police officer, rising in rank from patrolman to deputy police chief before being elected Town President in 2005, Dominick said more needs to be done to protect Police Officers, sending a clear warning to criminals by reimplementing the Death Penalty and by imposing tougher mandatory punishments in crimes involving crimes against police.

“I believe that tougher mandatory punishments for injuring or killing a police officer will send a clear message to criminals that if they cross that line, they will face severe mandatory prison time and punishment and even the death sentence,” Dominick said, expressing his heartfelt condolences on behalf of the Town to the family of Detective Reddins.

“To protect police, we should increase the penalties for criminals convicted of injuring or killing a police officer. If you point a gun at a police officer, they should receive a mandatory prison sentence of twenty years with no bond or good behavior release. If you shoot an officer, you should be given a 40-year prison sentence. And God forbid if a suspect kills a police officer, they should be given a mandatory death sentence by lethal injection.”

Dominick urged the Illinois General Assembly to act in response to this most recent tragedy involving the killing of Officer Reddins to help prevent this from happening again.

“Criminals are not afraid of the consequences of their crimes. They even believe they can be given leniency and nurture public sympathy by blaming their acts of violence on events that happened in their lives,” Dominick said.

“We need to change this culture of empathy for the criminals and instead invest in the lives of our citizens, mothers, fathers, seniors and children who are the victims of these criminals. And, we must protect our police officers who put their lives on the line to protect the community. Toughening our laws and reinstituting the Death Penalty in horrific circumstances like this would send a clear message to those who might do this in the future.”

The Illinois death penalty was revoked on March 9, 2011, when Governor Pat Quinn signed legislation abolishing it. The state replaced capital punishment with life imprisonment without the possibility of parole as the maximum sentence. This decision followed years of controversy and a moratorium on executions declared by former Governor George Ryan in 2000, due to concerns about wrongful convictions.

Dominick noted that since 2023, the Chicago Police Department has seen the tragic loss of four officers who were killed in the line of duty.

“We have seen four Chicago police officers killed just in the past two years,” Dominick said.

They are:

Officer Andrés Vásquez Lasso: On March 1, 2023, Officer Vásquez Lasso, 32, was fatally shot while responding to a domestic disturbance in the Gage Park neighborhood. He pursued an 18-year-old suspect, and during the chase, both exchanged gunfire, leading to the officer’s death.

Officer Aréanah Preston: On May 6, 2023, Officer Preston, 24, was shot and killed outside her home after finishing her shift. She was still in uniform when confronted by armed robbers, resulting in her death.

Officer Luis M. Huesca: On April 21, 2024, Officer Huesca, 30, was ambushed and fatally shot while returning home from work. He was attacked in his driveway, and his vehicle was stolen. A suspect was later arrested in connection with his murder.

Officer Enrique Martinez: On November 4, 2024, Officer Martinez, 26, was killed during a traffic stop on the city’s South Side. He was shot by a suspect who was later apprehended and charged with multiple offenses, including first-degree murder of a police officer.