The fatal shooting of an 18-year-old college student at a Chicago park has brought renewed scrutiny to Governor JB Pritzker’s recent efforts to categorize the city as safe. Authorities have charged Jose Medina-Medina, a Venezuelan national, with the murder of Sheridan Gorman, a Loyola University Chicago freshman. Gorman was killed early Thursday morning while watching the Northern Lights with friends at a lakeside park.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, Medina-Medina entered the U.S. illegally during the Biden administration and had a 2023 arrest for shoplifting. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a detainer for him following the shooting.
The incident follows a series of social media posts by Pritzker aimed at countering the narrative that Chicago is a “hellhole,” a term notably used by President Donald Trump.
In August 2025, Pritzker posted a video from a lakefront trail at 6 a.m., stating, “Doesn’t feel like a hellhole here. In fact, everybody’s having a great time.” He followed this in September with another video from the South Side, praising the city’s “beautiful” morning atmosphere.
READ: Trump Freezes Strikes As Iran Negotiators Talk ‘Nuclear Dust’
In an October appearance on the podcast Pod Save America, Pritzker described the 2025 season as “truly an amazing summer,” citing a WBEZ Chicago analysis that showed summer murder totals at a 60-year low. However, that same analysis noted 123 murders occurred during the three-month period, and 54 people were shot over Labor Day weekend alone.
When questioned by NBC 5 Chicago about the holiday violence, the governor remarked that “big cities have crime.”
The governor’s office released a statement following Gorman’s death: “Our thoughts are with the family, friends, and Loyola University community grieving the senseless murder of Sheridan Gorman. Violent crime has no place in our streets, and we expect the alleged perpetrator to be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
The spokesperson added that the Trump administration should “stop politicizing heinous tragedies” and restore federal violence prevention funds.
The case has drawn comparisons to the 2024 death of Laken Riley in Georgia. It also highlights ongoing tension between Illinois and the federal government. In January, Pritzker supported a lawsuit against the Trump administration’s DHS, claiming “unchecked federal agents” were undermining public safety.
Pritzker, a rumored 2028 presidential contender, is currently seeking a third term as governor. While he remains a frontrunner in a race rated “Solid Democratic” by the Cook Political Report, critics continue to point to high-profile crimes, including an incident where a man released under the state’s 2021 cashless bail law set a woman on fire on a Chicago train.
Please make a small donation to the Tampa Free Press to help sustain independent journalism. Your contribution enables us to continue delivering high-quality, local, and national news coverage.
Sign up: Subscribe to our free newsletter for a curated selection of top stories delivered straight to your inbox
