The killing of 18-year-old Loyola University student Sheridan Gorman was a direct result of failed politics of Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, according to Republican gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey.

Gorman was fatally shot in the head early Thursday morning while with friends at a lakeside park along Lake Michigan. Authorities have charged Venezuelan national Jose Medina-Medina with the murder.

Sheridan Gorman, Jose Medina-Medina

Immigration officials confirmed the suspect entered the country illegally under Biden in 2023 and had been released by law enforcement multiple times, including an arrest for shoplifting in Chicago.

“Sheridan Gorman should be here today,” Bailey said in a statement. “Sadly, thanks to our Part-Time Pritzker, she isn’t.

“Instead, her life was taken in a senseless act of violence while spending time with friends near campus. Her family is now living every parent’s worst nightmare. Gorman’s brutal murder was not unpredictable. It was preventable.”

Bailey criticized Pritzker’s priorities by pointing out that hours after the murder the governor was headlining a “lavish dinner” with political elites, even joking about deportations. Later he traveled to San Francisco to attend an event with Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi.

“Apparently, the safety of Illinois communities takes a back seat to his run for president,” Bailey said. “Illinois families deserve accountability. They deserve a leader who prioritizes the people of this state ahead of their own political ambitions.

“Illinois families, especially in the suburbs and across Chicago, are asking why someone with prior arrests and immigration violations was allowed back into our communities. And once again, they are asking, ‘Where is Governor J.B. Pritzker?’”