Family of Chicago Homicide Victim Presents Handmade Bench to Congress at Dallas Convention

During the second night of the Republican National Committee’s midterm convention in Dallas on Thursday, the family of Sheridan Gorman, an 18-year-old Loyola University freshman killed in Chicago in March, spoke publicly about her death and presented a handcrafted memorial bench intended for Congress.

Sheridan Gorman was allegedly killed by Jose Medina, a 25-year-old Venezuelan national living in the country illegally. Her family — mother Jessica Gorman, father Tom Gorman, and sister Madeline Gorman — appeared on stage alongside Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), whose district included Sheridan as a constituent.

Madeline Gorman described the loss in personal terms. “Illegal immigration stole my little sister from me,” she said, adding, “Politics stopped being theoretical for me. It became my sister’s empty bedroom. Her silent phone, my parents collapsing in grief.”

Tom Gorman urged people across the political spectrum to consider public safety when voting in the midterms. “Do not wait until this becomes your story,” he said.

A Testimony Before Congress

Jessica Gorman testified before Congress in June about her daughter’s death. During that hearing, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) made remarks that Gorman said signaled indifference. “Thanks for telling me without telling me that you’re here but you don’t want to be… for telling me you don’t care,” Gorman told Jayapal at the time, according to video of the hearing. Lawler, who introduced Gorman at the hearing, said he was angered by Jayapal’s comments.

At that hearing, Jessica Gorman had said she would personally buy a “Buddy Bench” for Congress in her daughter’s memory. She did not have to.

A Handmade Gift

“I actually didn’t have to buy a bench because Chris Langley, a law enforcement officer from North Carolina, reached out and he lovingly volunteered over 200 hours to handcraft this beautiful bench,” Jessica Gorman told the Dallas audience, as the bench was carried onto the stage.

“He volunteered to make this bench for Sheridan and for all of our American Angel families,” she said. “It’s beautiful! I wish she could see it.”

Langley and his wife, Felicia, attended the convention to present the bench in person. “Chris and his wife Felicia are here tonight to present their gift to Sheridan and to our American Angels and to Congress,” Gorman said.

Gorman also spoke about the jacket she wore on stage, decorated in a style her daughter used to create for people she loved, and showed the audience a pair of shoes that belonged to Sheridan. “Tonight I’m literally standing in my daughter’s shoes because she cannot stand here. I will. Because she cannot speak. I will be her voice,” she said.

“Illegal immigration and these sanctuary policies have stolen so much from us, from thousands of families in this country. But the one thing you can never ever steal is our hope. Can’t steal our hope. This Buddy Bench for Congress, this is our hope.”

The Gormans described Sheridan’s death as preventable, pointing to Chicago’s sanctuary city policies. “Our sweet Sheridan was murdered in Chicago by a man who was in this country illegally… sanctuary policies stole our daughter from us, and that is why we’re speaking out,” the family said in remarks from the stage.