Will County Gazette

Republican nominee for Illinois State Senate District 43, Jen Monson, has raised questions about when elected officials will take action. Monson is set to compete against incumbent Democrat Rachel Ventura in the upcoming general election.

"Enough is enough," said jennifer Monson for IL Senate, Candidate, according to Facebook. "When will our current state administrators and legislators take a stand for the people of Illinois? If a representative of the people sees this happening and does nothing, they do not represent We the People. I call on such elected officials to resign their seats so citizens, who are willing to represent their fellow citizens, can step in."

Monson recently shared a post on her Facebook page which included a link to an article published by CWB Chicago. The article highlighted two separate attacks: one sexual assault on a woman at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) campus and another attack on the city's northwest side. The suspect, identified as Elvis Hernandez-Pernalet, is reportedly a 28-year-old migrant from Venezuela. The article presented evidence from a detention hearing, including video footage from the March 16 incident that began on the UIC campus. Prosecutors allege that Hernandez-Pernalet followed a woman to the 900 block of West Harrison, then attacked her from behind and pulled her to the ground. According to CWB Chicago, Hernandez-Pernalet is also accused of following another woman from the Blue Line at Irving Park just three hours after attacking his first victim.

Screenshot of Jen Monson's March 28 Facebook post. | JenMonson4ILSenate43 Facebook page

Fox 32 reported that although the victim of the attack at 908 W. Harrison Street was not affiliated with UIC as a student or staff member, the university still issued a campus-wide alert. In discussing these incidents, Fox 32 quoted 15th Ward Alderman Ray Lopez who said: "We have individuals in our city who are not completely vetted, we don’t know their criminal history, we don’t know what they’re capable of."

Monson won an uncontested race in the primary election as she vies for Illinois State Senate District 43 seat under Republican banner. As per her campaign website, she is an educator and school board member who aims to "work to maintain citizen rights and their ability to exercise their God-given rights to exist and live freely without unconstitutional government overreach."