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Floor Speech

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Ms. DUCKWORTH. Madam President, I join my colleagues, the Senators from Nevada and Minnesota, in my frustration as to why we are here today.

Today, I am joining them and urging my colleagues to join me in calling for the swift confirmation of Chief LaDon Reynolds to be the U.S. marshal for the Northern District of Illinois. As a seasoned law enforcement officer, Chief Reynolds is more than ready to take on the challenges of this important leadership role, including playing a key part in addressing the rising violent crime devastating our communities in Northern Illinois.

Yet the only reason he is not already confirmed to this position is because of a hold from Senator Cotton--a hold that is completely unrelated to Chief Reynolds' immense qualifications. These qualifications include serving with distinction as the chief of police of the Oak Park Police Department for nearly 30 years, teaching law enforcement officers about the importance of community-oriented policing at the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board Executive Institute, and working to protect communities from rising hate as a board member of Governor Pritzker's Commission on Discrimination and Hate Crimes.

Senator Durbin and I carefully reviewed Chief Reynolds' experience and expertise. It is clear to us and the White House that he is the best fit for the job. What we are asking for now is simply to let Reynolds get to work; let him take charge of an office that has already gone without Senate-confirmed leadership for 4 years. We need to have a confirmed U.S. marshal leading Federal law enforcement operations to secure our Federal courthouses and capture violent fugitives of the law.

As U.S. marshal, Reynolds would also play an important role in the Biden administration's multijurisdictional strike force to investigate and prosecute gun traffickers channeling deadly weapons into the city of Chicago.

Every day, there are new stories of horrifying and often deadly impacts of rising violent crimes in the Northern District of Illinois. In fact, last year was one of the city of Chicago's deadliest in decades.

But statistics alone cannot fully describe the devastation our communities have endured. For so many Chicagoans, the presence of gun violence is a constant source of trauma and grief in their day-to-day lives. It is painful and gut-wrenching to see this sort of senseless violence happen again and again.

We cannot wait any longer to advance Reynolds' confirmation, especially not for his nomination to be used as a pawn for Senator Cotton to expedite a response to his unrelated pending inquiry to the U.S. Department of Justice. Instead, we must act to make sure the Northern District of Illinois U.S. Marshal's Office has the leadership it needs to fulfill its mission of administering justice and enforcing the law.

If Senator Cotton is serious about tackling violent crime and making our communities safe, then we must move forward with confirming LaDon Reynolds to be the next U.S. marshal for the Northern District of Illinois now. Chief Reynolds' nomination has my full support.

I request that Senator Cotton lift his blanket hold on the U.S. attorney and U.S. marshal nominees pending consideration before the Senate, including Reynolds' nomination.

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