Lake Barrington… State Representative Martin McLaughlin (R-Barrington Hills) released the following statement after reviewing the harrowing details of the Chicago man, Christobal Santana, being charged for the attempted murder of an Illinois State Police trooper and now identified by the Illinois State Police as a person of interest in the Chicago homicide of Adrianna Lopez.
McLaughlin said, “The despicable and unnecessary shooting of our Illinois State Trooper Chapman-Green in Sangamon County is abhorrent, and I am pleased to hear Trooper Chapman-Green is doing well in his recovery.”
“Christobal Santana is suspected by the State Police of being behind the brutal murder of his girlfriend, Adrianna Lopez. However, the Chicago Police Department has not yet named a suspect in the murder of Lopez, nor did they have anyone in custody in connection to the crime,” said McLaughlin.
“Adrianna Lopez was a beloved special education teacher for the Chicago Public School district, and her family says she had filed for an order of protection against Santana over a month ago.”
Rep. McLaughlin said, “There are serious questions concerning the brutal murder of Adrianna Lopez. Her family members told the Tribune they saw video evidence of the murder take place and provided testimonial evidence of the long-term domestic violence perpetrated against her by Santana.”
McLaughlin said, “When are the Chicago Police Department and Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx going to address the public about this devastating murder of a beloved CPS teacher? Foxx recently held a press conference that included Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson discussing the awful Halloween shootings, but they made no mention of the slaying of Adrianna Lopez.”
“State’s Attorney Kim Foxx has spent the past seven years implementing soft-on-crime policies that are directly leading to the staggering increase in violent and coordinated criminal activity. We do not need two Public Defenders in Cook County, but rather a competent lawyer to hold people accountable for anti-social criminal behaviors,” said McLaughlin.
“Santana should not have been anywhere near Lopez and definitely should have been far away from any weapon. These serious questions in this devastating case are still unanswered after 13 days and must be addressed immediately,” said McLaughlin.
McLaughlin said, “The families of these victims deserve justice and need to know how Santana made it out of Cook County and all the way down to our State’s Capitol in Springfield. We talk about protecting women, especially those vulnerable women in domestic abuse situations all the time, yet here we find ourselves with another horrible outcome, and not one elected official who has the duty to protect Adrianna Lopez in Cook County seems to want to address the situation.”
“Victims of domestic violence should not be failed time and time again by our criminal justice system, especially when they follow the proper safeguards that were put in place to help them,” said McLaughlin.