Democratic governor contender Chris Kennedy abruptly left a candidate forum Monday, criticizing Republican candidate Jeanne Ives for what he called “ignorance and stupidity†after she said Chicago’s gun violence could be solved if more fathers stayed in the home.
The controversy came when Ives, a three-term conservative lawmaker from Wheaton who is challenging Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, responded to a question on curbing gun crimes.
“The problem is the gun violence in this city of Chicago, predominantly. And you know how you’re going to solve it? Fathers in the home,†she said.
As the audience booed and shouted, she repeated, “Fathers in the home.â€
Kennedy later got his turn to respond.
“Well, I wish I could agree with you. I didn’t have a father in my life. Somebody shot him,†Kennedy, the son of the assassinated former U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, said to Ives before he left the forum amid applause and a standing ovation from hundreds of attendees.
Ives was the lone Republican candidate attending the event, which featured the leading Democratic candidates for governor. It was held by the Community Renewal Society, a progressive and faith-based group, at Old St. Patrick’s Church in the West Loop Gate neighborhood.
As expected, Ives was frequently at odds with the Democratic candidates, and she occasionally drew the scorn of the audience as she repeatedly suggested city and county residents share in the blame for such issues as crime, high taxes and a lack of quality public education because they re-elect Democrats.
“That is your problem. Your taxes are too high and opportunity’s not here,†she said. “We need jobs and opportunity, and we’re not going to get that if you keep electing these same people as before.â€
But it was her brief answer about Chicago gun crimes that prompted the biggest reaction — most notably from Kennedy, who had not yet turned 5 when his father was slain by an assassin’s bullet during the 1968 presidential campaign.
“You know, some stuff hits a raw nerve and, um, I think that should be a debate about great ideas, a clash, and not one of emotions,†Kennedy said as he exited about an hour into the 90-minute forum.
“But when I hear such ignorance and stupidity aired out by someone who knows so little about so much, I don’t think there’s an appropriate place for them to be on a podium on a dais with other people who have given these issues thought and have the emotional capacity to be empathetic at the same time,†he said.
Kennedy also was scheduled to make an appearance an hour later at a Rev. Martin Luther King celebration at a church in the Grand Crossing neighborhood on the South Side.
A Kennedy aide said later that the candidate’s quick departure was not to ensure making his next event on time. Indeed, Kennedy was late getting to the West Loop forum following an earlier event with Rainbow PUSH, and drew some audience reaction when he told them to blame his untimely arrival on “Jesse Jackson.â€
Asked afterward about Kennedy’s reaction to her comment, Ives defended her belief that absentee fathers are a significant factor in crime. She went so far as to speculate that the son of Kennedy running mate Ra Joy, who was killed near the University of Chicago in June, was killed by someone who lacked a father’s influence.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-met-ives-kennedy-chicago-gun-violence-20180115-story.html
