Chicago City Wire

Ted Dabrowski, a candidate for the Illinois gubernatorial race, expressed his support for expanding police authority to combat crime during a speech at Chicago's True Blue Gala. The event took place on November 14, 2025, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Chicago.

"It was great to celebrate, honor and support our men and women in blue last night at Chicago's True Blue Gala," said Dabrowski, Gubernatorial candidate. "I am in firm agreement with Police Supt. Larry Snelling that the city must take the handcuffs off the police and put them on the criminals."

The gala marked the 10th anniversary of the Chicago Police Foundation's flagship fundraiser. The True Blue Gala featured an honor guard, auctions, and programming aimed at supporting technology and training initiatives for the Chicago Police Department (CPD). The 2025 event was highlighted as a significant milestone in its decade-long history.

According to city reports, Chicago has been publishing near-real-time public safety data through the Violence Reduction Dashboard. This tool was developed in collaboration with the University of Chicago Crime Lab. In 2025, there have been ongoing declines in key violence indicators. These findings are supported by CPD CompStat releases and annual reports that provide transparency by tracking index crimes, shootings, and clearances. Users can access trends, maps, and datasets to compare different periods and neighborhoods across the city.

Dabrowski is running in the 2026 Illinois Republican gubernatorial primary. He is known as a conservative policy leader and commentator who previously led Wirepoints, an Illinois-focused research outlet. Before that role, he served as vice president of policy at the Illinois Policy Institute. Dabrowski has built a reputation for advocating data-driven fiscal reform and emphasizes growth, safety, and accountability in his campaign platform.