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I am a lifelong Illinoisan, and I have met my social contract. I’ve done everything properly. I’ve been law-abiding and I’ve been productive. And if I didn’t do these things, I would have been punished. So I’ve met my side of the bargain. But I want my governor to know that he hasn’t met his end of the bargain.
Recently, I sent Gov. J.B. Pritzker a letter asking straightforward questions about the sanctuary policies he champions—policies that protected an illegal alien who went on to kill my daughter. I asked for a response by January 19, 2026, the one-year anniversary of Katie’s death. To this day, I have received nothing.
The pain our family has experienced in the past 12+ months since Katie’s death is beyond description. I wish I could explain it to people. The pain is so unbearable at times it has made me almost unable to function. I am haunted by the knowledge that I will never walk my daughter down the aisle, I’ll never hold her children, I’ll never see her again. I would give anything – anything – and the rest of my days for just one more hour with her.
AN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT KILLED MY DAUGHTER — LEFTISTS MARCH FOR RENEE, NOT FOR KATIE
My questions to the governor were not ideological questions. They were factual, basic, and rooted in public safety. Among the 11 questions I asked, three stand out:
First, in federal court on November 23, 2025, it was stated that Julio Cucul-Bol is currently receiving treatment through the Illinois Department of Corrections for an incurable communicable disease, HIV. What medical screening protocols, if any, were in place when he entered Illinois?
Katie Abraham was killed when the vehicle she was traveling in was rear-ended by an illegal immigrant drunk driver. (Joe Abraham )
Second, it has since been revealed that Cucul-Bol, a Guatemalan national, was using the alias "Juan Jahaziel Saenz-Suarez," falsely identifying himself as a Mexican national. Federal law-enforcement authorities were aware of this identity fraud. Why was an individual known to be using an alias allowed to remain in Illinois communities without meaningful verification?
We ask why this individual was in the country, in the state, and in our communities to begin with. Gov. Pritzker wants the public to stop asking that question. I will not.
Third, Cucul-Bol possessed an Illinois driver’s license despite being illiterate and unable to read or write in any language. How did he pass the written driver’s examination?
GRIEVING FATHER SAYS DAUGHTER’S DEATH BY ILLEGAL ALIEN SHOWS COST OF SANCTUARY POLICIES
These are simple questions. They deserve answers. You can read my entire letter here.
Gov. Pritzker was elected to represent me, my family, and every citizen of this state. Instead of responding, he chose silence. And when pressed by the media, his office attempted to deflect responsibility by pointing to a DUI narrative raised by Katie’s mother—as if intoxication somehow erases the fact that the man who killed my daughter should never have been here in the first place.
It does not.
Drunkenness cannot be separated from presence. If an illegal alien stabs someone to death while drunk, we do not excuse the crime by blaming alcohol alone. We ask why that individual was in the country, in the state, and in our communities to begin with. Gov. Pritzker wants the public to stop asking that question. I will not.
DHS launched 'Operation Midway Blitz' in honor of Katie Abraham, who was killed in a drunken-driving, hit-and-run car wreck caused by a criminal illegal alien in the sanctuary state of Illinois. (Department of Homeland Security)
On January 19, 2025, my youngest daughter, Katie Abraham, was killed in Urbana, Illinois. She was only 20-years-old—brilliant, loving, full of promise, and planning a future that will now never come. She died instantly when the car she was riding in was rear-ended at nearly 80 miles per hour by a drunk driver, Julio Cucul-Bol, an illegal alien.
Cucul-Bol was using an alias while in Illinois and went undetected under a system unprepared—and unwilling—to enforce immigration law. First responders had to pry open the vehicle to reach Katie’s lifeless body.
She was gone before we could say goodbye.
The driver fled the scene but was later apprehended in Texas. He pleaded guilty to a 30-year prison sentence for killing two women, including my daughter, and injuring three others. Some say this is justice. It is not. When that sentence is divided among the five lives shattered that night, Katie’s life is effectively valued at about ten years. And because Illinois is a sanctuary state, we are forced to worry that even this sentence may not be fully served.
Gov. Pritzker was elected to represent me, my family, and every citizen of the state of Illinois. Instead of responding to my questions about my daughter's death, he chose silence. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Gov. Pritzker likes to say immigration enforcement is the responsibility of the federal government. Yet in practice, he nullified federal immigration law and replaced it with his own. Without legislative consent or meaningful public accountability, he facilitated the entry and protection of hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens—without adequate vetting, without health screenings, and without a realistic plan for public safety.
Katie was more than a statistic or a talking point. She was vibrant, kind, creative, and deeply loved. She had dreams and plans that were stolen—not only by one man’s recklessness, but by a political system that valued ideology over human life.
Yes, Julio Cucul-Bol chose to drink and drive. But Governor Pritzker chose policies that allowed an illegal alien—using an alias, lacking basic verification, and somehow licensed to drive—to live freely in Illinois. Those choices intersected on January 19, 2025. When policy decisions directly contribute to foreseeable harm, responsibility does not vanish. There is blood on the hands of those who refused to act.
This past year has been the most brutal of our lives. Every "first" without Katie has reopened the wound:
- Her 21st birthday, March 28
- Family birthdays
- Thanksgiving
- Christmas
- New Year’s
Katie was more than a statistic or a talking point. She was vibrant, kind, creative, and deeply loved. She had dreams and plans that were stolen—not only by one man’s recklessness, but by a political system that valued ideology over human life.
Gov. Pritzker has never acknowledged Katie’s life or her death. No call. No letter. No response. Silence.
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Silence is not neutrality. Silence is a choice.
For families like mine, that choice speaks volumes.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM JOE ABRAHAM
Joe Abraham is the father of Katie Abraham, who was killed in a drunken-driving accident by an illegal alien.
