The Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago (CIOGC) offers its heartfelt condolences and prayers to families who lost family members and to members of the Aurora, Illinois Police Department injured in service to the public on Friday afternoon. We pray you find the strength to endure this hardship and be granted the perseverance to find a sense of peace from this tragic loss.
Too many people continue to resort to guns to resolve disputes and problems. The United States leads the world, and the City of Chicago is among the national leaders, in the annual number of gun deaths. This use of deadly force must be stopped.
As the Illinois legislature continues to debate policies of gun control, we, the citizens of Illinois must demand that our state legislature make gun control its priority. All Illinois communities must join together to push for needed reforms in our laws and policies if we are to arrest this upward spiral of gun violence.