[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 187 (Wednesday, November 28, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7148-S7149]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                           EXECUTIVE CALENDAR

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, the 
Senate will proceed to executive session and resume consideration of 
the following nomination, which the clerk will report:
  The legislative clerk read the nomination of Karen Dunn Kelley, of 
Pennsylvania, to be Deputy Secretary of Commerce.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, the time 
until 11 a.m. will be divided between the two leaders or their 
designees.
  The Senator from Illinois.


Gun Violence and Remembering Police Officer Samuel Jimenez, Dr. Tamara 
                         O'Neal, and Dayna Less

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, if I came to the Senate floor each day and 
told the story of another victim of gun violence in the city of 
Chicago, it would be a full-time job. Trend lines are improving ever so 
slightly, but the deaths from gun violence in that great city continue 
to break our hearts. Hardly a day, a week, or month goes by that we 
don't hear another story of some child, innocent bystander, infant, or 
elderly person victimized by gun violence. Last week, there was an 
extraordinary event which captured the hearts of the people of Chicago 
and Illinois.
  This Monday afternoon, hundreds of police officers from Chicago and 
Northern Illinois--and some from as far away as Boston and New York--
stood at solemn attention, lining the roadways around the Shrine of Our 
Lady of Guadalupe in the Chicago suburb of Des Plaines.
  The night before, a powerful blizzard had dumped 7 inches of snow in 
the Chicago area. It was very cold, but it was not cold air that caused 
many of the officers gathered outside the chapel to feel numb. It was 
grief. They had come to pay their respects to a fallen brother and 
hero.
  Chicago police officer Samuel Jimenez was shot and killed a week 
earlier when he tried to stop a shooting at Mercy Hospital & Medical 
Center on the city's South Side.
  I am going to put this array of photos up because I want to address 
each and every one of them, the individuals on there. This is Officer 
Jimenez. He was 28 years old, married to his high school sweetheart, 
the loving father of three little kids.
  Killed in the same shooting were these two women: Dr. Tamara O'Neal, 
an emergency room physician, and Dayna Less, a first-year pharmacy 
resident. Both women worked at Mercy Hospital. The man who shot all 
three of them also died, from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the 
head.
  Let me speak of this hero and these healers for a moment. Officer 
Samuel Jimenez was 28 years old, married to his high school sweetheart, 
Crystal. Together, they had three children--two little girls and a boy. 
Friends said his eyes lit up whenever anyone asked him about his kids.
  Officer Jimenez had been a member of the Chicago Police Department 
for less than 2 years. He had already earned two honorable mentions for 
exceptional performance. He and his partner were in their patrol car 
around 3:30 Monday afternoon, a week ago, November 19. A call came over 
the police radio about an active shooter at Mercy Hospital. The gunman 
shot Dr. O'Neal in the parking lot and then ran into the hospital. 
Officer Jimenez followed. He was shot and killed in the hospital lobby.
  The gunman shot Ms. Less as she stepped off an elevator. He then shot 
and killed himself, after first being shot by a Chicago policeman.
  At the funeral, Officer Jimenez was remembered as a loving husband, 
father, and friend, and as dedicated to protecting others. He grew up 
in Northwest Chicago, the youngest of nine children. Before joining the 
police department, he worked at Dunkin' Donuts, bused tables at 
Moretti's Ristorante & Pizzeria. He even delivered mail in the suburbs. 
His instructors and classmates at the police training academy 
remembered him as a stellar recruit, always eager to lend a hand, 
always there with a warm hello.
  He completed his 13-month probationary period with the police 
department just last August. Officer Jimenez and his partner didn't 
have to respond at Mercy Hospital. You see, that hospital was outside 
the district they were assigned to, but they went anyway, not even 
hesitating for a second because they knew people were in danger.
  Dr. Tamara O'Neal was an emergency room doctor. That is one of the 
hardest, most stressful jobs in the hospital. Dr. O'Neal picked that 
profession because she thought it was where she could do the most good 
for people who needed help. She was 38 years old. She joined the staff 
of Mercy Hospital less than 3 months ago, after a 3-year residency at 
the University of Illinois at Chicago--the same school where she earned 
her medical degree.
  Her colleagues remember her for her outgoing personality and her 
willingness to go out of her way to help others. They say she used to 
stay long after her shift ended to make sure her patients were taken 
care of. She was also a woman of great faith. She was the choir 
director of her church in Indiana, and she drove there every Sunday--60 
miles each way--to lead the congregation in song. Her brother was the 
pastor of the church. Dr. O'Neal helped raise money every year to buy 
school supplies for children in the church whose families were strapped 
for money. She loved taking her nieces and nephews into the city of 
Chicago to show them new attractions, new restaurants.
  Dayna Less was 24 years old. Had the shooting happened 1 day later, 
she would still be alive. She was leaving that next day to spend 
Thanksgiving in Indiana with her family. She graduated from pharmacy 
school at Purdue last May, after 6 years of study.
  She was engaged to be married in June to a young man she met at 
church camp when they were both just 9 years old. Dayna Less loved the 
Chicago Cubs, working at Mercy Hospital, and traveling.
  Before coming to Mercy, she spent 8 weeks on pharmacy rotation in 
Kenya. She wrote about her experiences there in a blog. This is part of 
what she wrote:

       Watching patients die from things that would 100 percent be 
     treatable in the US is extremely disheartening.
       It's been very important for me to focus on the positive 
     things we are doing here because it can be difficult to see 
     how we are making a difference. But, it's worth it when you 
     fight for something and it actually happens! Even if it's as 
     small as making sure a patient gets their medication, we are 
     doing something that matters.


[[Page S7149]]


  Officer Jimenez, Dr. O'Neal, and Ms. Less were all doing work that 
mattered and mattered greatly. All three were dedicated to helping 
others--Officer Jimenez as a protector, Dr. O'Neal and Ms. Less as 
healers.
  Their deaths have left their friends and families, the Chicago Police 
Department, and all of the city of Chicago stunned and grieving. There 
is never--never--a good time to lose a family member to violence but to 
lose them during the holiday season seems especially cruel. Our hearts 
go out to Officer Jimenez's family and to the O'Neal and Less families.
  Officer Jimenez was the second Chicago police officer killed in the 
line of duty this year. Last February, the day before Valentine's Day, 
District Commander Paul Bauer was fatally shot in downtown Chicago. Gun 
violence against police officers is not just a problem in the city of 
Chicago; it is a problem across America. It is getting worse.
  We all remember the horrific ambush of Dallas police officers in July 
2016. Five officers were killed and nine others were injured by a 
sniper. Since then, 132 police officers have been shot and killed in 
the line of duty in cities and towns across our country. These are 
intentional shootings. They are not accidents.
  We have seen intentional killings at churches, synagogues, schools, 
and as we have learned so painfully in the city of Chicago, hospitals. 
We are seeing an increase in shootings in these locations.
  In 2016, U.S. hospitals spent $1.1 billion to try to make their 
hospital grounds safer. Think about that: more than $1 billion--not to 
cure an illness, not to alleviate suffering but to protect the patients 
and professionals at hospitals across America from this horrific gun 
violence that shook the city of Chicago last week. Imagine if that $1 
billion would have been spent on healing and keeping people healthy.
  Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich was the main celebrant at Officer 
Jimenez's funeral. I want to read part of what he told the mourners who 
filled Our Lady of Guadalupe. He said of those in law enforcement:

       Every day they get up, leave their homes and family to 
     watch out for us.
       I think that maybe the best way that we can console each 
     other and also express our gratitude for the sacrifice that 
     has been given in the death of Officer Jimenez is as 
     citizens, remember that law enforcement wants us all to live 
     together, to watch out for each other, care for each other, 
     and then maybe we will make their jobs easier.

  He added:

       And maybe, there will not be another death of an officer 
     because all of us are taking responsibility for watching out 
     for one another.

  It is not unusual for the people of Chicago to rightfully say to me, 
their U.S. Senator: What are you going to do about this? What are you 
going to do to reduce gun violence in the United States?
  Does the Second Amendment to the Constitution create this burden on 
us today, where we have to accept wanton gun violence as part of 
someone's constitutional right? Of course not. Those who misuse guns, 
those who do not store them or use them properly and legally should be 
held accountable. Why then can't we pass basic legislation in this 
Congress? Why can't we pass a bill to keep guns out of the hands of 
people who are unqualified to own them or people who are unstable and 
should never be given a gun? Why can't we make certain that weapons 
that are military weapons, that have little or no application when it 
comes to sport or hunting, are not sold to everyone, right and left, in 
the United States?
  I heard recently, there were 11 million AR-15s--a military-style 
weapon--that are circulating in the United States of America. Does 
anyone, in their wildest imagination, think that is what the Founding 
Fathers had in mind when they talked about the right to bear arms; that 
people would have these deadly military weapons and they would be used 
so often?
  I will be very candid with you, having served in the House and served 
in the Senate for a number of years, the prospects of passing 
meaningful gun safety legislation are minimal. There are two things 
that can make a difference. For one, if the police and law enforcement 
officers across the United States stood as one and demanded of Congress 
there be gun safety measures to make their lives safer, it would be 
happen. Law enforcement could be the inspiration and the political 
motivation for Congress to act.
  Secondly, I know thousands of law-abiding gun owners in the State of 
Illinois. I grew up in a family--my family and others--where owning a 
firearm was considered part of life. It was what people did so they 
could go hunting in a proper way, a legal way. If those legitimate gun 
owners--sportsmen, hunters, and those who keep them for self-defense--
would step up and say we need to draw clear lines for those who abuse 
firearms and those who are using them to kill innocent people, that, 
too, could make a difference. Think of that. If the law enforcement 
community and gun owners who accept responsibility for that firearm 
came together and demanded Congress pass measures to keep guns out of 
the hands of those who kill our policemen, threaten our law enforcement 
officers, and hurt innocent people like the doctor and this pharmacy 
resident, it would make a significant difference.
  Until that happens, we will come and make speeches on the floor of 
the Senate. We will issue press releases. We will attend funerals. We 
will offer our thoughts and our prayers, but I think it is time for 
more. I think it is time for this Nation to step up and do something 
significant, to not just stop and demand that we bring an end to gun 
violence in Chicago and other cities but make this a safer world for 
our children.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Cotton). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.