Quinn: Trotter Case Should Play Out In Court
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Gov. Pat Quinn was side-stepping questions about State Sen. Donne Trotter's arrest on Wednesday for allegedly trying to carry a handgun onto a flight at O'Hare International Airport, saying the judicial process should play out in court.
WBBM Newsradio Political Editor Craig Dellimore reports the governor really didn't want to say anything about Trotter, who has been charged with a felony count of attempting to board an aircraft with a weapon.
"You know, you have to have a judicial process, and that's what's going on now, and I think that's the only way to go," he said.
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Quinn shrugged off any suggestion Trotter's arrest would affect the gun control debate in Springfield, where the governor is pushing for an assault weapons ban. Trotter has been a gun control advocate in the legislature.
"There's really no place for military-style assault weapons that are designed to kill people. That is not something that should be in the hands of ordinary folks in Illinois," Quinn said.
The governor said lawmakers should be listening to the people.
"I do believe that we need to ban assault weapons in Illinois, and I think that's what the people believe, and I'm a little disappointed in the legislature – really both houses – that they didn't take this issue up as comprehensively as they should."
