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Pritzker says he knows few details about ISP shooting unarmed woman, says he hasn’t watched the video (Updated)

Wednesday, Jul 22, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller

Isabel: An Illinois State Police officer shot an unarmed woman in East St. Louis in January. Yesterday it was announced the officer will not face criminal charges. Do you think the family of Rachel Tarrence received proper justice?

Pritzker: So I have to admit that the details of the decision about that I do not know. So it’s very hard for me to have a reaction to you. I promise that I will make sure that I am ready to give a reaction to that. But I will say that that a tragedy occurred here. No one, no police officer, State Police, or any other police officer wants to have to pull a weapon out, be engaged in shooting in any way, and and of course the victim of that shooting is somebody that we should be thinking of, particularly this victim.

Isabel: Have you watched the video?

Pritzker: I have not seen the video.

Isabel: Should the trooper be fired?

Pritzker: I again have not seen all the information. But I will say that we have leadership at the Illinois State Police, in particular, that is of very high character, and I expect that they have done a thorough job in reviewing this, and that the matter has been made transparent within the department and within the adjudicators of it.

The governor has commented innumerable times about videos of fatal ICE shootings, including of an unarmed woman in a car. But an unarmed Illinois woman was shot to death by his own State Police force and he didn’t watch the video?

…Adding… From the governor’s office…

ISP’s Division of Internal Investigations completed a criminal investigation in February 2026 that was referred to the State’s Attorney. Upon conclusion of the criminal case, the ISP is conducting an internal investigation to assess any possible policy or rules of conduct violations.

…Adding… St. Clair County State’s Attorney…

On the morning of Thursday, July 16th, State’s Attorney James Gomric and his assistants met with the family of Rachel Terrence and their attorney. This meeting was scheduled through their counsel on July 1st and was scheduled at a time convenient for the family to meet in person. Out of respect for the family of Ms. Terrence, a meeting was held in advance of the release of the findings letter relating to the officer involved shooting from January 4th of this year.

The attached letter was signed by State’s Attorney Gomric on the morning of July 16th and submitted to Illinois State Police to inform them of our conclusions. The letter contains a summary of the more than 40 hours of audio and video reviewed, including radio traffic, dash cam footage, body cam footage, video surveillance, and witness interviews. The office additionally reviewed the reports and documents submitted by the Division of Internal Affairs for the Illinois State Police. These materials were reviewed by multiple senior attorneys within the State’s Attorney’s Office, ultimately reaching the same conclusion. Based upon the materials presented, the State’s Attorney’s Office will not be filing criminal charges against Trooper Novak in the death of Rachel Terrence.

Click here for the letter.

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