South Central Reporter

State Rep. Blaine Wilhour (R-Effingham) is looking for leaders who will bring all stakeholders to the table to resolve the issue of rising crime in Illinois.

"We're here today because we need to talk about real action," Wilhour said, quoted by the South Central Reporter. "We need to have real discussions about the serious underlying issues that are driving a culture of violence in this state. We need to have conversations based on a holistic approach about why mental health has deteriorated in recent years. Is it because of a lack of funding? Is it because of lack of availability? Generations of broken families? Is it because public policy has robbed too many communities of opportunity and hope for the future? Is it a lack of respect for law enforcement personnel from the top down in this state? Is it video games that young people are still involved in that glorify violence and death? I don't know the answers to all of these questions. Nobody knows the answer to these questions. Neither do you guys. I think that's something that we need to talk about here because nobody talks about it. It's easy to throw out red meat on more restrictions but if more restrictions were the sole answer we wouldn't be having this discussion today. What we need are real leaders that are going to bring all the stakeholders to this discussion. All the stakeholders from every side of this. We need to get ahead of these issues and we need leadership that is going to encourage that no solutions are off the table on this issue."

Illinois is experiencing a rise in crime in every community across the state.

"We got to strategize, we have to mobilize, and get in front of this thing," Terry Burnside, executive director of House of Hope, a nonprofit violence prevention organization; told The Center Square recently.

A report by Axios Chicago found that 19% of Illinois cities are underreporting crime data to the FBI.

Tim Baldermann, the mayor of Lenox, is frustrated with the crime problems.

"I represent Republicans and Democrats alike,"  he told FOX News. "This is not a partisan issue. This violence is happening to everybody."