By Ryan Keith, The Associated Press
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - As hundreds of people mourned the death of a security guard at the state Capitol, Secretary of State Jesse White on Friday defended his office’s decision not to require the guards to wear bulletproof vests.
The office has 10 bulletproof vests available, and White acknowledged that wearing one could have saved the unarmed guard’s life. But he said there was no reason before the shooting to require the guards to wear them.
“The vests have to be fitted for them to be worn, and whenever there was a spirit of unrest, when they felt that their life was in danger, they could use them,” White said in an interview after a memorial service for William Wozniak, 51.
Wozniak, one of about 80 Capitol guards, had little if any warning Monday when a gunman walked through the main entrance and fired a shotgun blast into his chest, killing him. The man now charged in the killing had been in the Capitol earlier that morning but gave no sign of being a threat, fellow guard Craig Glossop said.
Derek W. Potts, a 24-year-old recent college dropout whose family says suffers from mental illness, was arrested the following morning and charged with murder, burglary and gun violations.
Prosecutors are reviewing whether to seek the death penalty.
Gov. Rod Blagojevich said Friday he had not considered whether to lift the state’s moratorium on executions because of the shooting. He said he generally supports the death penalty in cases where police officers are killed, but he indicated he wants more time for new reforms to the criminal justice system to take effect before he lifts the moratorium.
“You’ve got to make sure the system is foolproof,” he said.
Blagojevich and White both spoke about Wozniak during a memorial service in the Capitol rotunda Friday attended by more than 300 lawmakers, state workers, family and friends.
“Bill did his job well and he did it cheerfully,” Blagojevich said. “When I walked in the building and saw Bill, he was always friendly, always cheerful and always accommodating.”
White, whose office oversees the Capitol and other state buildings, recalled Wozniak as a dedicated employee who “knew more about this Capitol complex than anyone I can think of.”
Both promised to move quickly on improving Capitol security, such as installing metal detectors and security cameras and giving security guards guns and vests.
“We’re going to do that,” Blagojevich said, “whatever it takes to make that happen.”