SKOKIE, Ill. – The Republican candidate for Illinois Governor following last week’s primary is getting some criticism for allegedly suggesting everyone needed to just “move on” from Monday’s fatal mass shooting in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park.
The “Daily Beast” reported that State Senator Darren Bailey told a crowd Monday at what was a just-cancelled parade in nearby Skokie, following a moment of prayer, to “…let’s move on and celebrate the independence of this nation.”
Through a spokesperson, Bailey apologized to the Daily Beast for that statement.
“I apologize if in any way we diminished the pain being felt across our state today,” Bailey told The Daily Beast, through a spokesperson. “I hope we can all come together in prayer and action to address rampant crime and mental heath issues to make sure these horrific tragedies don’t happen again.”
But, prior to the “move on” statement, Fox News reports Bailey said this: “There’s a lot of confusion and frustration in the parade being canceled, but they did the right thing because people’s safety has got to come first. The shooter is still at large, so let’s pray for justice to prevail.”
Both outlets report Bailey received large amounts of social media criticism.
