* Press release…

Today, Governor-elect JB Pritzker announced the formation and members of the transition’s Restorative Justice and Safe Communities Committee at Safer Foundation, one of the nation’s largest nonprofit organizations that provides employment, educational, and supportive services for individuals with criminal records.

The committee is the eighth of several working groups of the transition made up of subject-matter experts who will advise and guide the incoming Pritzker-Stratton administration. The Restorative Justice and Safe Communities Committee will be chaired by Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, State Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth, and Congresswoman Robin Kelly and consist of 42 members.

“Across our country – including here in Illinois – our criminal justice system is broken, and throughout the campaign, I listened to Illinoisans impacted by this broken system and witnessed how it’s harmed communities,” said Governor-elect JB Pritzker. “If we’re committed to economic justice, let’s be committed to criminal justice reform and public safety. These problems are not separate from each other. They’re intertwined with each other. It’s time to bring real prosperity to every community, tear down the barriers that block people from opportunity, and move away from a system of imprisonment and build a true system of justice.”

“A core promise of our campaign was the creation of the Office of Criminal Justice Reform and Economic Opportunity,” said Lieutenant Governor-elect Juliana Stratton. “It will build a system of justice that reflects the values of Illinois and listens to the people of Illinois. That’s a system that diverts youth and adults from incarceration in the first place, a system that modernizes sentencing, a system that encourages rehabilitation, and a system that works to reduce gun violence and creates economic opportunity. I know we can achieve meaningful, lasting progress and opportunity and justice that we all believe in – but only if we act together.”

“The state of Illinois needs to reimagine our criminal justice system,” said Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx. “This committee will work to challenge and transform the ways our state deals with systemic issues that leave communities of color behind. I look forward to JB and Juliana’s leadership statewide to address gun violence and a more holistic approach to public safety.”

“It’s no secret that Illinois’ criminal justice system has failed communities across our state, and it’s time to fix it,” said state Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth. “We can start by making our state agencies more accountable to the people they serve, and we can build collaboration across agencies to bring interconnected services into communities that need them most.”

“Governor-elect Pritzker and Lieutenant Governor-elect Stratton are ready to reinvent our criminal justice system so every Illinoisan has a chance to reach their full potential,” said Congresswoman Robin Kelly. “They recognize that gun violence is a public health epidemic and have real prevention and intervention plans that will keep our communities safe.”

RESTORATIVE JUSTICE AND SAFE COMMUNITIES COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Kim Foxx co-chairs the transition’s Restorative Justice and Safe Communities Committee and is the first African American woman to lead the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. She was elected in 2016 with a vision for transforming the office into a fairer, more forward-thinking agency focused on rebuilding the public trust, promoting transparency, and being proactive in making all communities safe. During her first two years in office, Foxx has revamped the office’s Conviction Integrity Unit, resulting in overturned convictions in over 60 cases, led bond reform efforts, and prioritized resources away from low-level offenders. Prior to being elected state’s attorney, Foxx served as an Assistant State’s Attorney for 12 years and as a guardian ad litem advocating for children navigating the child welfare system.

Jehan Gordon-Booth co-chairs the transition’s Restorative Justice and Safe Communities Committee and serves as state representative for Illinois’ 92nd district. In 2014, Gordon-Booth and her husband, Derrick, lost their son, DJ, to gun violence. Two years later, she introduced and passed the “Neighborhood Safety Act” — the most comprehensive and impactful criminal justice bill in Illinois history. The law aimed to address over incarceration and the needs of crime victims by eliminating over 1,000 mandatory minimums and expanding judicial discretion, incentivizing rehabilitation for inmates and establishing trauma recovery centers for victims of crime. She is the first African-Americanwoman ever elected to the Illinois legislature from Central Illinois, the youngest woman to serve in leadership in the House and is a 2013 Edgar Fellow.

Robin Kelly co-chairs the transition’s Restorative Justice and Safe Communities Committee and serves as congresswoman for Illinois’ 2nd district. Since being elected in 2013, she has worked to expand economic opportunity, community wellness, and public safety across the state, championing numerous initiatives to generate job growth, reduce health disparities, and end gun violence. A staunch champion of common-sense gun reforms and responsible community policing, Congresswoman Kelly is a co-chair of the Congressional Gun Violence Prevention Taskforce, was tapped to sit on the House Task Force on Community-Police Relations and is the author of the 2014 Kelly Report on Gun Violence in America, the first-ever Congressional analysis of the nation’s gun violence epidemic that offers a blueprint for ending the crisis.

Phillip Andrew, Director of Violence Prevention, Archdiocese of Chicago

Brian Asbell, Sheriff, Peoria County

Charles Bachtell, CEO and Co-Founder, Cresco Labs

Kathy Bankhead, Ombudsperson, Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice

Deanne Benos, Former Assistant Director, Illinois Department of Corrections

Walter Burnett, Alderman, City of Chicago

Annalise Buth, M.R. Bauer Foundation Fellow, Center on Negotiation and Mediation at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law

Kelly Cassidy, State Representative, Illinois General Assembly

Kahalah Clay, Circuit Clerk, St. Clair County

Colleen Daley, Executive Director, Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence

Victor B. Dickson, President and CEO, Safer Foundation

Arne Duncan, Managing Partner, Emerson Collective

Michael Frerichs, Treasurer, State of Illinois

Dr. Nneka Jones Tapia, Leader in Residence, Chicago Beyond

Brendan Kelly, State’s Attorney, St. Clair County

Edith Crigler, Member, Illinois Prisoner Review Board

Era Laudermilk, Deputy of Policy and Strategic Planning, Cook County Public Defender’s Office

Chris Lindsey, J.D., Executive Director, Marijuana Policy Project

Jens Ludwig, Director of the University of Chicago’s Crime Lab, University of Chicago

Tony Munoz, State Senator, Illinois General Assembly

Cliff Nellis, Executive Director, Lawndale Christian Legal Center

Mike Newman, Deputy Director, AFSCME

Katya Nuques, Executive Director, Enlace Chicago

Cheryl Parks, Executive Director, Job Partnerships Peoria

Quinn Rallins, Program Director, Illinois Justice Project

Julia Rietz, State’s Attorney, Champaign County

Elizabeth Robb, Retired Chief Judge, 11th Judicial Circuit

Pamela F. Rodriguez, President and CEO, Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities

Selwyn Rogers, Director, University of Chicago Medicine’s Trauma Center

Kathleen Sances, Executive Director, Gun Violence Prevention PAC

Sean Smoot, Director, Police Benevolent and Protective Association of Illinois

Jason Stamps, Acting Director, Center for Public Safety and Justice at UIC

Joseph Strickland, Associate Director & Senior Researcher, Jane Addams School of Social Work at UIC

Carmen Terrones, Consultant, David Lynch Foundation

Jennifer Vollen-Katz, Executive Director, John Howard Association

Julie Wilen, Executive Director, Pritzker Foundation

Diane Williams, President Emeritus, Safer Foundation

Kathleen Willis, State Representative, Illinois General Assembly

Paula Wolff, Director, Illinois Justice Project

* I hadn’t heard of the David Lynch Foundation, but Carmen Terrones was a Deputy Chief Probation Officer for the Cook County Juvenile Probation Department before retiring from the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice.

So, what is this foundation that she consults for?…

The David Lynch Foundation is working with schools, community organizations, partner foundations and Chicago leaders to:

Improve school climate and academic outcomes
Bring the healing effects of the [Transcendental Meditation] technique to mothers and their families who have lost loved ones to violence
Bring the benefits of the TM technique to non-custodial African American fathers, to better help them connect with their children
Heal the trauma and side effects of PTSD among veterans
Help our youth in juvenile detention centers

* It’s actually kind of interesting. Check out one of their videos…