West Cook News

Commissioner Sean Morrison showed his opposition to defunding the Cook County Sheriff’s Office by voting "No" at a commissioners' meeting, while stating data as to why.

Morrison was the sole dissenting vote, meaning the Cook County Board passed a resolution 16-1 out of the Criminal Justice Committee to defund the sheriff’s office. 

"There's too much politics surrounding the 'Defund the Police' movement,” Morrison told the Illinois Review. “We need to be focused on saving lives right now.” 

Morrison had three focus points for his opposition to the resolution: it chastised all law enforcement as inherently racist, it does not substantively address the issue of police misconduct, and it jeopardizes funding for policing of suburban communities.

“My primary concern is for the most vulnerable communities who will see less police protection which means more crime, more violence, and sadly, more tragedy," Morrison said. He added now is not the time to consider defunding law enforcement, especially with the steady increase in violent crime this year.

Chicago Police Department reported 31 murders from July 6 to July 12  — a 417% increase from the six murders recorded during the same time last year, according to statistics. The city also saw 116 homicides during the most recent 28-day period, compared to 41 reported in 2019.

Morrison also provided the Violence Against Children data at the meeting. The data, from the Chicago Police Department, listed 203 children shot and 35 children killed in Chicago since Jan. 1.

Concluding his remarks and opposition to defunding the Cook County Sheriff’s Office at the July 27 meeting, Morrison highlighted recent polling numbers in his suburban 17th District showed a majority of residents at 80% opposed "Defunding the Police."