* From Gov. Pritzker’s media availability today…
Q: The attorney general’s office said that it’s going to review the sentence of Jason Van Dyke. Do you think that’s a good idea for him to step in like that and do you think that Van Dyke’s sentence was fair?
A: Well, I think any ruling can be reviewed and I think it’s, there’s nothing wrong with doing that. Um, look, I happen to think that, uh, when someone has been killed, uh, the way that this, uh, you know, murder took place, uh, that, uh, a strong sentence, uh, would have been better than the one that was, uh, that was, uh, put in place here. So, it’s reasonable to review it, but, but I don’t know what the outcome of that review would be.
- LoyalVirus - Monday, Jan 28, 19 @ 2:13 pm:
public speaking tip, when your mouth wants to say “uh” or “um”, tell your brain to pause/breathe. #toastmastersarestillathing
- Perrid - Monday, Jan 28, 19 @ 2:16 pm:
Besides the verbal tics a pretty good, though very cautious, response.
- Thomas Paine - Monday, Jan 28, 19 @ 2:19 pm:
“i think most people who saw that tape were relieved when they heard the verdict, and thought justice head been done. the judge’s verdict pulled the rug out from underneath us all.
Speaking as a father, I think shooting a teenager 16 times and murdering him calls for a stiffer sentence than 81 months. A sentence that short sends the wrong message.”
- I Miss Bentohs - Monday, Jan 28, 19 @ 2:19 pm:
Incorrect JB.
- illini - Monday, Jan 28, 19 @ 2:28 pm:
JB stay in your own lane. Your office has much more pressing issues to deal with.
- Fixer - Monday, Jan 28, 19 @ 2:39 pm:
This is part of his lane, Illini, and he was responding to an unscripted interview question. Uhs and Ums aside, it’s a decent neutral answer.
- West Side the Best Side - Monday, Jan 28, 19 @ 2:40 pm:
Wonder if the “um” and “uhs” were when he was reviewing the case law in lesser included offenses and the “One Act-One Crime” doctrine in his mind before speaking.
- Fax Machine - Monday, Jan 28, 19 @ 2:42 pm:
During the election people who thought the AG should investigate corruption supposedly had no idea what the AG did, but here we have the AG reviewing a criminal sentence?
Either the AG is a prosecutor or he isn’t.
- Perrid - Monday, Jan 28, 19 @ 2:44 pm:
@illini, really? The head of the executive branch of state government can’t comment on the actions of other parts of state government when directly asked?
Please.
This was also about as bland of an answer as you could get.
- Rich Miller - Monday, Jan 28, 19 @ 2:52 pm:
===The head of the executive branch of state government can’t comment===
As you allude to, he’s in the big chair now. He’ll get asked lots of questions. He also has a law degree. Totally fair game.
- Dupage Saint - Monday, Jan 28, 19 @ 3:01 pm:
Just say review it the A G is handling it and I look forward to working with AG and legislators and concerned citizens to clarify the law so loopholes in sentencing are closed
- Last Bull Moose - Monday, Jan 28, 19 @ 3:02 pm:
Review makes sense. The law seems somewhat tangled on sentencing. Would like the legislature to sort this out. I understand the Judges logic that the murder should be more important than the method of murder, but the law can be read otherwise.
Jason Van Dyke appears to have both inadequate equipment and poor training. At $1,000 each, every patrol car should have a taser. The two man police team should be trained to operate as a team with one being the lead immobilizer and the other to back up with lethal force. At close range the old Army 45 with a lead bullet has more stopping power than Van Dyke‘s weapon seemed to have. Sixteen shots speaks to poor training. That is not aimed fire.
Again, poor equipment and poor training resulted in one dead and one life ruined.
- Saluki - Monday, Jan 28, 19 @ 3:12 pm:
Interesting that when the media agrees with an elected official on something their “ums” and “uhs” are filled in with “…” when they don’t, you get the full “um” and “uh” treatment.
- RNUG - Monday, Jan 28, 19 @ 3:22 pm:
Cautious answer and it works but JB could have stopped after the first sentence. Answer the question, period, fill stop.
If the reporter presses, then expand … but by then you’ve had a minute to get your thoughts in order.
- Kayak - Monday, Jan 28, 19 @ 3:32 pm:
This is his lane and he’s in the driving the Reformmobile. This review paves the way for Criminal Justice Reform, something I remember him being very passionate about during the campaign.
- wondering - Monday, Jan 28, 19 @ 3:34 pm:
It takes a lot of uhhs and umms to thread the needle without sticking your thumb.
- Kayak - Monday, Jan 28, 19 @ 3:40 pm:
Also, I welcome an unprepared sincere response that drops a couple of “ums” or “uhs”, than a slick prepared insincere script dropping every “g”.
- Stuntman Bob's Brother - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 12:29 am:
==Sixteen shots speaks to poor training. That is not aimed fire==
The only defense that could have helped Van Dyke would have been some kind of PTSD leading to temporary insanity, his defense that “He was following his training” was legal malpractice.
Your comment on equipment is right on - but a better non-lethal standoff weapon would have been a bean-bag shotgun, IMHO. You can reach out and touch someone outside of a taser’s 15′ limit, have multiple rounds, and not too many folks can take one of those on the thigh and keep standing. Maybe provide both?