SPRINGFIELD – State Sen. Dave Syverson (R-Cherry Valley) released a statement in response to today’s visit to Illinois Capital City by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

Secretary Noem was in Springfield May 7 to highlight how sanctuary policies in Illinois have unleashed violence on American citizens — including rape, sexual assault, murder, shoplifting, and more — while shielding illegal aliens responsible from facing consequence.

“A visit by the Homeland Security Secretary sends a pretty strong message to the Pritzker Administration. The federal government is shining a national light on what many Illinoisans already know,” Syverson said. “Gov. JB Pritzker’s sanctuary state policies are reckless, dangerous, and putting lives at risk. He has repeatedly proclaimed Illinois as the ‘most welcoming state in the nation,’ but has little to say about what it’s costing taxpayers or how many violent offenders have slipped through the cracks as a result.”