President Trump took a jab at J.B. Pritzker by posting a news article of a man accused of murder and burglary posing with the Illinois governor in a photo from a week earlier.
Less than a week before a crash-and-grab burglary crew killed an innocent man on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile on Thursday, one of the men now charged with that murder wore a “peacekeeper” uniform and posed for a one-on-one photo with Mr. Pritzker.
The CWBChicago news outlet first reported that Kellen McMiller, 35, had outstanding warrants in four states, including Florida, Indiana and Wisconsin, as he played the role of a “peacekeeper” while standing next to Mr. Pritzker for the photo.
“It’s folks like these that we need more of doing the hard work of community violence prevention,” Mr. Pritzker said on Facebook, “not troops on the ground to undermine efforts fighting crime.”
The photo was ultimately scrubbed from the state’s online press release about the event.
In a statement, a Pritzker spokesperson said the governor “meets hundreds of people in communities every week and is often asked to take photos.
“We were extremely troubled to learn that this individual was arrested for his alleged involvement in this serious crime, and we expect them to be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. The Governor will keep doing everything in his power to fight crime, keep our neighborhoods safe, and support community violence intervention, which have been proven to work.
“For example, the Peacekeepers Program has a strong track record reducing violent crime by 41% over the past two years and providing community members with a path towards rehabilitation.”
Mr. Trump has been threatening for weeks to send the National Guard to Chicago to fight crime while Mr. Pritzker has been telling the White House that the city doesn’t want or need the troops.
In the early morning of Sept. 11, a pack of burglars smashed a pickup truck into a display window at the Louis Vuitton store on North Michigan Avenue and stole $700 worth of goods, prosecutors say.
As Chicago police arrived, the crew was loading the goods into the getaway vehicles, and one of those cars, a black Kia, raced down Michigan Avenue at 77 mph, running red lights until it crashed into a Honda CR-V.
The driver of the Honda was 40-year-old Mark Arceta of Skokie. Mr. Arceta had a green light and was on his way to his final shift at Northwestern University before starting paternity leave.
He was killed in the crash, and his wife gave birth to their son soon after.
Prosecutors said Mr. McMiller was one of five burglars in the Kia and is still hospitalized from injuries from the crash.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
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