Illinois Governor JB Pritzker's public relations team is apparently operating on the Keystone Kops level of sophistication. In a recent photo-op, Governor Pritzker appeared with members of a group of people wearing "peacekeeper" vests. One of the people photographed with the governor apparently has a very liberal (hah) view of what constitutes a "peacekeeper," as he was wanted in four states prior to the photo-op, and only days later, was arrested and charged with murder after a smash-and-grab burglary.
Exclusive: Days before crash-and-grab crew killed a man on the Mag Mile, one of the men charged with the murder posed with Gov. JB Pritzker at a “peacekeeper” event.
— CWBChicago (@CWBChicago) September 18, 2025
And officials say he did it while wanted by authorities in 4 states.https://t.co/PAOgrboBUB
A CWBChicago article has more details.
Less than a week before a crash-and-grab burglary crew killed an innocent man on the Magnificent Mile last Thursday, one of the men now charged with that murder donned a “peacekeeper” uniform and posed for a one-on-one picture with Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker.
While that’s troubling, some law enforcement experts are more concerned that the accused man was able to stand directly next to the state’s most powerful executive despite having outstanding warrants in four states.
CWBChicago first reported on 35-year-old Kellen McMiller’s role as a “peacekeeper” last weekend. Now, we have more detail, including a picture of McMiller posing with Pritzker—a photo that has apparently been scrubbed from the state’s online press release about the event.
I'll bet they scrubbed the photo!
Here's what Kellen McMiller is accused of now:
Just before 5 a.m. on September 11, a group of burglars backed a pickup truck into a display window at the Louis Vuitton store at 919 North Michigan Avenue. Video shows several men running through the shattered storefront and returning with trash bags filled with merchandise. Prosecutors said goods worth nearly $700,000 were stolen.
Chicago police arrived as the crew was loading into getaway cars. One of those vehicles, a black Kia, sped down Michigan Avenue at 77 mph, running red lights until slamming into a Honda CR-V at Ohio Street, prosecutors claim. The driver of the Honda, 40-year-old Mark Arceta of Skokie, had a green light and was heading to his final shift at Northwestern University before starting paternity leave. He was killed in the crash, and his wife gave birth to their son soon after.
Prosecutors said McMiller was one of five burglars in the Kia. He remained hospitalized yesterday for injuries from the crash.
That's a really peculiar sort of "peacekeeper."
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Whoever organized this event, whoever screened the attendees, whoever was responsible for a state governor appearing next to a felon wanted in three states, is seriously clue-impaired. This is incompetence of the first water.
Every Republican strategist in Illinois, once they get over their laughing fits, should be preparing print, media, and online ads featuring this photograph. Splash it all over the state! Put it on every campaign poster! Put it on every bumper sticker (are bumper stickers still a thing?) Even more hilariously, Governor Pritzker, in a press release released after that photo-op, was singing the praises of the "peacekeeper" group:
In a press release issued later that day, the governor’s office called the group “‘trusted messengers’ in the community.”
“It’s folks like these that we need more of doing the hard work of community violence prevention,” Pritzker said on Facebook, “not troops on the ground to undermine efforts fighting crime.”
Fighting crime? Maybe while they aren't actually engaged in, you know, committing crimes.
Here's the really funny part: JB Pritzker is supposedly on the short list for the Democrats' presidential nomination for the 2028 election. Yeah, Dems, you go with that.
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