Gov. JB Pritzker met and posed for a photo with a South Side anti-violence worker several days before the man allegedly took part in a Mag Mile smash-and-grab robbery that killed a man on his way to work.
Court records show Kellen McMiller had four outstanding arrest warrants when he stood next to Pritzker Sept. 5 at Public Equity, an Englewood nonprofit that aims to reduce gun violence in part by intervening and mediating conflicts.
McMiller is among seven people charged in the Sept. 11 smash-and-grab at the Louis Vuitton store at 919 N. Michigan Ave., where a crew made off with nearly $700,000 in stolen merchandise, according to police and prosecutors.
The 35-year-old “peacekeeper” allegedly was in one of the cars that sped from the robbery and hit an SUV driven by 40-year-old Skokie resident Mark Arceta, who died soon after, authorities said.
McMiller, who was hospitalized after the crash, faces charges of first-degree murder, burglary and retail theft, along with his six co-defendants. CWBChicago first reported he had met Pritzker days earlier.
Pritzker’s office featured their photo together in a news release after the governor’s visit but later removed it.
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,” Pritzker’s office said. “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.”
Four warrants had been out for McMiller’s arrest, including in Florida, Indiana, and Wisconsin, court records show.
In a statement released Thursday, leaders of Chicago CRED, a violence intervention group, said more than “1300 men and women work in the Peacekeepers program, serving 31 Chicago neighborhoods and nine Cook County suburbs. Because many of them are justice-involved individuals who have experienced severe violence-related trauma, they sometimes make poor choices that can lead to tragic consequences. With that in mind, we are constantly enhancing our screening practices and additional supports.”
Earlier this week, Pritzker hailed his Illinois State Police security detail as he has faced a rising numbers of threats with political divisions deepening nationwide.
“They’ve done a terrific job of keeping my family safe,” Pritzker said Monday. “We have the best executive protection unit in the country.”
In a statement, Illinois Republican Party Chair Kathy Salvi said the Democratic governor “can continue to grandstand about President [Donald] Trump’s initiatives to tackle crime in cities, but he is proving President Trump right everyday with the show of complete incompetence he puts on display.”
Trump has threatened for weeks to send the National Guard into Chicago to fight crime, despite the fact that violent crime rates have fallen steadily in Chicago in the last few years.
“Gov. Pritzker would rather do a photo op with fugitives to bolster his leftist bona fides than do the work it takes to even figure out if his previous anti-violence programs he’s funding … are being co-opted by law breakers,” Salvi said.
The Trump administration has moved to cut funding for community violence intervention programs, which studies have shown can be effective in decreasing shootings.