Illinois Governor JB Pritzker is facing backlash after being photographed with a man from Chicago’s taxpayer-funded “peacekeeper” program — who, just days later, was charged with murder in a deadly crash-and-grab robbery.
The man, 35-year-old Kellen McMiller, was wearing an official peacekeepers vest when he posed with Pritzker during the governor’s week-long tour of Chicago. The initiative was meant to showcase community leaders, school administrators, and violence prevention workers. But at the time of the photo-op, McMiller reportedly had four outstanding arrest warrants.
Six days later, prosecutors say McMiller joined six accomplices in smashing a stolen car into a Louis Vuitton store on Chicago’s Miracle Mile. The crash-and-grab turned fatal, killing a soon-to-be father. McMiller is now charged with murder, burglary, and retail theft.
After the arrest, Pritzker’s office quietly scrubbed the photo from its official press release, later calling the situation “extremely troubling.” A spokesperson insisted the governor takes countless pictures with people in the community and said Pritzker will continue to back the Peacekeepers program, which they claim has helped cut violent crime by 41% over the past two years.
But critics argue the scandal highlights the failures of Pritzker’s soft-on-crime agenda — with a wanted fugitive posing as a “peacekeeper” standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the state’s top official just days before taking part in a fatal robbery.