There are moments in life when the distance between rhetoric and reality becomes unbearable. March 25th, in a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing on the Constitution—focused on sanctuary cities and the rule of law—was one of those moments for me.

I was there to do what no parent should ever have to do: speak about the violent, preventable death of my daughter, Katie.

Katie Abraham was killed in Urbana, Illinois, when an intoxicated illegal immigrant slammed into the back of the car she was riding in—at nearly 80 miles per hour—while they were stopped at a red light. She didn’t put herself in harm’s way. She wasn’t part of a volatile confrontation. She was simply living her life until reckless policies and failed leadership intersected with devastating consequences.

And still, in the eyes of my own state’s leaders, she is treated as if she never existed.

This wasn’t the first time.

On June 12, 2025, during an oversight hearing in the House of Representatives, not a single Illinois Democrat acknowledged Katie. Not one said her name. Not one looked in our direction. That day, I made a promise to my daughter: I would not allow her to be erased simply because her story is inconvenient to a political narrative.

I intend to keep that promise.

Before the March 25 hearing began, I encountered Senator Tammy........

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