Foster, Others Challenge Sheriff's Statement On Assault Weapons Ban

ILLINOIS — Rep. Bill Foster (D, IL-11) has joined Reps. Sean Casten (D, IL-6), Delia Ramirez (D, IL-3), Jesus "Chuy" Garcia (D, IL-4), Mike Quigley (D, IL-5) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D, IL-8) challenging DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick to change his stance that he will not enforce parts of the statewide ban on assault weapons.

The Protect Illinois Communities Act, H.B. 5471, passed Jan. 10, prohibiting the sale and distribution of assault weapons, high-capacity magazines and other similar alterations in Illinois.

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On Jan. 13, Mendrick shared a statement on his Facebook page that read, in part:

"Part of my duties that I accepted upon being sworn into office was to protect the rights provided to all of us, in the Constitution. One of those enumerated rights is the right of the people to keep and bear arms provided under the 2nd Amendment.
The right to bear arms for defense of life, liberty and property is regarded as an inalienable right by the people.
I, among many others, believe that HB 5471 is a clear violation of the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution."

Mendrick continued,

"Therefore, as a custodian of the jail and chief law enforcement official for DuPage County, that neither myself, nor my office will be checking to ensure that lawful gun owners register their weapons with the State, nor will we be arresting or housing law-abiding individuals that have been arrested solely with non-compliance of this Act."

In response, Foster and the aforementioned lawmakers wrote in a news release,

"As Sheriff, you do not have the authority to set enforcement priorities based on your personal views of a law’s constitutionality. Moreover, by choosing not to enforce the law, you will put the safety of DuPage residents and law enforcement officers at risk. To that end, we request that you immediately rescind your January 11, 2023, statement and clarify that you will uphold your office’s mission statement, including your duty to ‘enforce the laws of the State of Illinois and the county of DuPage in a fair and impartial manner.’ It is clear that your statement was misguided and erroneous due to the widespread condemnation from DuPage County residents, several county board members, and state legislators."

Foster, Casten, Krishnamoorthi, Quigley, Garcia and Ramirez also jointly sent Mendrick a letter challenging his authority to "set enforcement priorities based on your personal views of a law’s constitutionality."

The letter continued, "Moreover, by choosing not to enforce the law, you will put the safety of DuPage residents and law enforcement officers at risk."

They called on Mendrick to rescind his statement, referring to it as "misguided and erroneous due to the widespread condemnation from DuPage County residents, several county board members, and state legislators."

The legislators cited that DuPage County Board unanimously voted in favor of a statewide assault weapons ban in October and prompted Mendrick to answer the following questions:

1. "Do you assert that you have the authority as the Sheriff of DuPage County to selectively disregard state laws that you, in your judgment, believe to be unconstitutional? If so, please clarify where that authority resides."
2. "Have you, in your capacity as Sheriff, ever previously opined that a state law was unconstitutional and directed your department not to enforce that law? If so, please provide details."
3. "Your department is funded and directed by the DuPage County Board. On October 25, 2022, that board voted unanimously in support of a statewide ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Did you consult with any member of the board before issuing your January 11, 2023, statement? Please provide details of any pertinent communications."

A spokesperson for the DuPage County Sheriff's Office did not immediately respond to Patch's request for comment Friday afternoon.