2 Illinois lawmakers say their names were in Minnesota shooting suspect’s ‘notes’
Illinois congresswoman says her name was in Minnesota shooting suspect’s ‘notes’
A member of Congress representing some of downstate Illinois’ largest cities said her name was included in the "notes" belonging to the man accused of shooting two Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Two members of Congress from Illinois said their names were included in the "notes" belonging to the man accused of shooting two Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses.
The revelation comes as investigators revealed there were several Minnesota Democratic lawmakers on suspect Vance Boelter’s so-called "hit list" and that several more names were found among his records.
What we know:
U.S. Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi and Nikki Budzinski, both Democrats, confirmed on Tuesday their names were in the suspect's records.
Krishnamoorthi, who represents parts of Chicago's northwest suburbs in the 8th congressional district, said in a statement:
"I have been informed that my name was included in the notes of the Minnesota suspect accused of assassinating an elected official, murdering her husband, and targeting others.
"This brutal attack was devastating and terrifying on many levels. Priya and I have spent much of the last few days thinking about Rep. Hortman and her husband Mark, as well as Sen. Hoffman and his wife Yvette.
"Political violence has no place in America — full stop. Even in this time of great division, we should all agree on that."
UNITED STATES - MARCH 27: Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., walks down the House steps after last votes in the Capitol on Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Budzinski, who represents some of downstate Illinois' largest cities, made the revelation in a series of posts on X Tuesday that she was "informed by Capitol Police that my name was included in the Minnesota murder suspect’s notes."
Budzinski sent her condolences to the family of Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, who were both killed, and State Sen. Jon Hoffman and his wife, who were shot.
"As I’ve said before, there is absolutely no place in this country for political violence," Budzinski continued. "We must be a nation that values civility and mutual respect – always."
Still, it was unclear in exactly what context the two lawmakers' names appeared in the suspect's notes.
Budzinski represents Illinois’ 13th congressional district, which stretches from outside of St. Louis, covers Springfield, and extends as far east as Champaign and Urbana, where the University of Illinois’ flagship campus is located.
UNITED STATES - FEBRUARY 26: Rep. Nikki Budzinski, D-Ill., speaks during the New Democrat Coalition news conference on its policy platform for the 119th Congress in the Capitol on Wednesday, February 26, 2024. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty
‘No broader threats’
The backstory:
On Monday, Gov. JB Pritzker and Illinois State Police said while the names of multiple officials from Illinois were found among the suspect’s records, there was no immediate threat, especially after Boelter’s arrest.
Pritzker explained that investigators recovered devices and other "paper" that included more than 600 names, but it was "more of a hodge-podge, a few people here, a few people there, websites he had visited, et cetera."
The governor said as far as he understood, the people whose names were found in those records were not targets of the alleged gunman.
A spokesperson from the Illinois State Police said Monday there were "no broader threats at this time."
ISP added it’s "vetting information found among the suspect's property, and provided to ISP by Minnesota and federal law enforcement agencies, as it relates to Illinois elected officials, potentially in both paper and electronic form. ISP will continue to communicate with Illinois legislators as additional information is available and assessed."
Fox 32 spoke with retired FBI agent Ross Rice about the case.
"It would be malpractice if they didn't reach out," Ross said. "And what exactly they're telling them, other than they were on a list of somebody that killed one state legislator and tried to kill another, I don't know. A lot of details haven't come out."