Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, Ninth District, IL


 
 

 

 
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Press Release
 

MARCH 3, 2005
 

SCHAKOWSKY CALLS ON BUSH 
TO INCREASE FUNDING FOR 
JUDICIAL PROTECTION
 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Following the tragic murders of U.S. federal Judge’s Joan Lefkow’s family in U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky’s (D-IL) Congressional District, Schakowsky today called on President Bush to work with Congress to increase funding for Judicial Protective Services (JPS). 

In a letter to Bush, Schakowsky wrote: “Our initial discussions with the Department of Justice and its components, indicate that to fully perform the variety of missions for which it is tasked, including judicial protection, additional funding is immediately required.  It has become evident that, based upon an increasing workload, the U.S. Marshall Service has only 75% of the staff needed to complete its mission.”

 She continued in the letter, “It is clear then that the protection of the judiciary requires additional personnel and fiscal resources to ensure the safety of federal judges.  Your FY06 budget proposes $485,910,000 for JPS, only a $7,388,000 increase over FY05.  That is an insufficient budget allocation to ensure the safety of our judiciary.  This is an urgent homeland security matter.  Federal judges all over the country are in need of protection from terrorism, both foreign and domestic.”

 “To Judge Lefkow and her family, I offer my deepest condolences in this difficult time.  I am hopeful that the Chicago Police Department and federal authorities will bring to justice those murderous criminals who committed this heinous crime.  I will work with my colleagues in Congress and President Bush to ensure that our law enforcement agencies have the resources that they need to protect our judges so that no other family would have to suffer the pain of such a tragedy,” Schakowsky said. 

According to the U.S. Marshals Service website: "In recent years, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of threats against members of the judiciary, U.S. attorneys and other court officers. Explicit threats against the judiciary are assessed by court security inspectors to determine the level of danger. On average, about 700 threats/inappropriate communications against judicial members are logged each year - many of which result in round-the-clock protective details."
 

The full text of the letter is below:
 

March 3, 2005
 

President George W. Bush
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC  20500
 

Dear President Bush:

            Following the horrific murder of Michael F. Lefkow and Donna G. Humphrey, husband and mother of U.S. District Judge Joan H. Lefkow, I am writing to request that the White House immediately address the urgent need for additional funding to the Judicial Protective Services (JPS) branch of the U.S. Marshall Service.

            Our initial discussions with the Department of Justice and its components, indicate that to fully perform the variety of missions for which it is tasked, including judicial protection, additional funding is immediately required.  It has become evident that, based upon an increasing workload, the U.S. Marshall Service has only 75% of the staff needed to complete its mission.

            It is clear then that the protection of the judiciary requires additional personnel and fiscal resources to ensure the safety of federal judges.  Your FY06 budget proposes $485,910,000 for JPS, only a $7,388,000 increase over FY05.  That is an insufficient budget allocation to ensure the safety of our judiciary.  This is an urgent homeland security matter.  Federal judges all over the country are in need of protection from terrorism, both foreign and domestic.  Your current budget request is not sufficient to place additional U.S. Marshals on the street or compensate for the need of overtime pay.

            Mr. President, no federal judge should live and work in fear or fear for the safety of their families.  An independent judiciary demands that and is critical to our democracy.  I hope that you will publicly call on Congress to increase appropriations to the U.S. Marshall Service in order for it to perform its core missions more effectively.  I look forward to working with you and my colleagues in Congress to immediately provide additional protection to our federal judges. 

                                               Sincerely,
 
                                               Janice D. Schakowsky
                                               Member of Congress

 

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