MCLEAN COUNTY (Heart of Illinois ABC) – The McLean County Republican Party planned there night of community events at The Corn Crib for late July and welcomed the entire community.
But not all were excited – local democrats called out a big-ticket raffle item they felt was out of touch with recent events.
“Hosting an event like this is in really poor taste and I just don’t know how they can go forward with an event like this,” McLean County Democrats Chairperson Patrick Cortesi said.
The GOP would raffle off a Rock Island 12-gauge shotgun. The tickets would be be sold for 20 dollars each. Democrats called this insensitive in the wake of the Highland Park Massacre.
“I think they’re really out of touch of how the majority of Illinois thinks and feels about the issue and I think this is just another example of that,” Cortesi said.
Local republicans said the two events were not related and said the focus should have been on the mental health crisis instead.
“To try to connect the horror and the tragedy enacted by the induvial who is obviously mentally unstable is to really ignore the real problem.” McLean County Republicans Chairperson Connie Beard said.
While democrats claimed the GOP was out of touch – the community seemed divided. Some said us they supported the raffle and saw no issue while others argued it was not appropriate.
“In the current climate of the country, I don’t think that would be the smartest thing for anybody to do until we get some sort of gun control laws in place,” Normal resident Christopher Watkins said.
Raffle tickets would only be sold to those 18 and older and you must have a firearm owner’s identification card to claim the rifle.
The gun would not be at the event.
The raffle would be held Friday July 22nd.
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