By Awake Illinois Fellow of Law Enforcement, Chief Tom Weitzel, (Ret.) January 26, 2026 The murder of a police officer is not just another homicide. It is a direct assault on the rule of law and on every citizen who relies on that law for protection. When an officer dies in the line of duty, justice must be certain, permanent, and insulated from political negotiation. In Illinois today, it is not. A series of criminal justice reforms—rooted in developmental science and aimed