JB Pritzker laid flowers at Alex Pretti's memorial within hours of his death.
Sheridan Gorman was shot in the head on a Chicago beach and Pritzker said nothing for four days.
Now he's talking – and his first move was to blame Trump.
Pritzker Raced to Minneapolis After ICE Shot Alex Pretti but Ignored the Loyola Murder
Sheridan Gorman was 18 years old, a Loyola University freshman from Yorktown Heights, New York, out with friends at 1 a.m. on a March Thursday trying to photograph the northern lights over Lake Michigan.
Jose Medina-Medina walked up wearing a mask, pulled out a gun, and shot her in the head.
She never made it off the pier.
DHS confirmed Medina-Medina entered the country illegally from Venezuela in May 2023.
Border Patrol caught him at the border – and released him.
https://twitter.com/Arkadalo/status/2036085627259625473?s=20
Chicago police picked him up for shoplifting at the State Street Macy's in June 2023 – and released him again.
He was still wanted on an active warrant for that shoplifting case when he put a bullet in Sheridan Gorman's skull.
Pritzker Stayed Silent While an ICE Detainer Sat Ignored and a Killer Walked Free
While Pritzker was silent on Sheridan Gorman's murder, he had been anything but quiet about federal immigration enforcement in Minneapolis.
When ICE agents shot Alex Pretti – a man who showed up armed to interfere with a federal arrest operation – Pritzker laid flowers at his memorial and posted to social media within hours: "We must put a stop to Trump's ICE. Now. Stop the funding, stop the occupations, stop the killings."
He didn't wait four days.
When Pritzker finally broke his silence on Gorman's murder Monday – after the Chicago Sun-Times documented he was still ignoring their inquiry at 11 p.m.
Sunday night – he offered one anodyne paragraph of condolences and pivoted immediately to attacking Trump.
"The Trump administration needs to stop politicizing heinous tragedies," his office said.
That's what passes for accountability in Springfield.
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A reporter asked a second question: Would Pritzker instruct Illinois authorities to abide by the Laken Riley Act and hold Medina-Medina for federal transfer?
Pritzker didn't answer.
The Illinois TRUST Act Released Jose Medina-Medina Twice Before He Killed Sheridan Gorman
The Illinois TRUST Act – signed in 2017 by Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner – generally prohibits state and local law enforcement from cooperating with ICE unless federal agents present a criminal warrant.
Pritzker didn't write it.
But he's spent years building on top of it.
In 2025, he signed House Bill 1312 – sweeping new sanctuary protections that further cemented Illinois as what he proudly called the "most welcoming state in the nation."
ICE issued a detainer for Medina-Medina over the weekend.
In December 2025, ICE Director Todd Lyons had sent a letter to Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul asking him to honor detainers for more than 4,000 criminal illegal aliens sitting in the state's custody. Raoul's office never responded.
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In 2025 alone, according to DHS, Illinois released 1,768 criminal illegal immigrants with active ICE detainers – among them people charged with homicide, sexual assault, weapons offenses, and drug trafficking.
Sheridan Gorman's family said they were "gravely disappointed by the policies and failures that allowed this individual to remain in a position to commit this crime."
That's a family being more precise about what happened than the governor who allowed it.
Trump called Medina-Medina an "animal" Monday and said the killing showed exactly why his administration is deporting people by the tens of thousands.
"These people were let in by Biden," Trump told reporters before boarding Air Force One. "It's a shame. They've hurt our country."
Jose Medina-Medina Was Not Some Ghost Who Slipped Through the Cracks
Jose Medina-Medina was not some ghost who slipped through the cracks of an imperfect system.
He was flagged at the border, released, arrested again, released again, and left on Chicago streets with an active warrant – while Pritzker was signing laws specifically designed to keep ICE away from people exactly like him.
Every step of the way, Illinois policy worked exactly as Pritzker intended.
That's the part he can't say out loud.
The Laken Riley Act exists because of this pattern – Trump signed it requiring illegal immigrants be held for federal transfer even if only accused, not yet convicted, of a crime.
The governor who rushed to a Minneapolis memorial within hours of Alex Pretti's death couldn't answer a yes-or-no question about an 18-year-old girl murdered in his own state.
That's not politicizing a tragedy.
That's the whole story.
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Sources:
- Charles Creitz, "Pritzker breaks silence on migrant charged in student's murder, blames Trump for 'politicizing' case," Fox News, March 23, 2026.
- "ICE Asks Governor Pritzker and Chicago Sanctuary Politicians to Not Release Criminal Illegal Alien Accused of Killing 18-Year-Old Loyola College Student," Department of Homeland Security, March 22, 2026.
- "Venezuelan migrant charged in murder of Loyola student misses court due to hospitalization," Fox 32 Chicago, March 23, 2026.
- "Illinois Gov. Pritzker signs sweeping sanctuary protections for undocumented immigrants into law," MyStateline/WTVO, December 9, 2025.
- "Minneapolis shooting: Illinois Governor JB Pritzker speaks on growing calls to reform or abolish ICE after killing of Alex Pretti," ABC7 Chicago, January 29, 2026.