Kifowit: Hate Has No Place in America

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Following the deadly domestic terrorist attack in Charlottesville, VA, state Rep. Stephanie Kifowit, D-Oswego, co-sponsored legislation condemning hate groups.

“Hatred, racism, sexism, bigotry, and violence is inexcusable and cannot be tolerated in our country,” Kifowit said. “What happened in Charlottesville was not just an attack on those who were standing up against hate, but an attack on every single American.”

Kifowit was a co-sponsor of House Resolution 569 which condemns white supremacists, neo-Nazis, the Ku Klux Klan, and any other group that espouses hate and seeks to undermine the ideals of Illinois and the nation. It also mourns the death of Heather Heyer who was killed when a white supremacist drove his car into a group of people protesting against hate and the deaths of Virginia state troopers Lt. H. Jay Cullen and Trooper Berke M. M. Bates, whose helicopter crashed in the area.

Kifowit also recently sponsored and passed legislation extending hate crime protections to include the exterior and grounds of religious buildings. Community service ordered following a conviction must be performed in the county where the offender was convicted of the crime. Individuals convicted of committing hate crimes must attend in-person educational classes focused on discouraging hate crimes against the targeted group. Kifowit’s House Bill 2390 also gives judges the ability to determine a fair financial amount based on the severity of the crime and damages suffered by the victim. Parents and legal guardians would also be financially responsible for crimes committed by minors and is awaiting action by the Governor for it to become law.

“Hate has no place in our country and we must oppose it whenever it appears within our nation,” Kifowit said. “There are not ‘many sides’ to this issue, you are either with the Nazis and racists or you are with those who stand up against them.”