Preventing and Responding to Domestic Violence
We support policies that expand survivor-centered response systems and reduce harm:
- Increase sustainable funding for community-based, trauma-informed services (crisis response, advocacy, mental health, legal assistance, housing supports).
- Promote survivor-centered practices in public systems (law enforcement, health care, courts) so survivors have access and receive services that are responsive to their needs, regardless of their identity and circumstances.
- Strengthen protections and remedies for survivors (safety planning resources, civil legal support, eviction/utility protections tied to abuse).
- Promote multi-agency coordination and data-sharing safeguards that help survivors while protecting privacy and safety.
Reducing Gun and Community Violence
Gun violence is highly concentrated in the city of Chicago, where nearly two-thirds of all homicides in Illinois occur. Shootings in Illinois also have a disparate impact on communities of color. Black men make up 7% of Illinois’s overall population, but 72% of the state’s gun homicide victims.
We endorse evidence-based and community-centered measures that reduce access to firearms for people at risk and support community safety:
- Support common-sense firearm safety policies that prioritize safety (effective background checks, responsible storage programs, and enforcement of existing laws).
- Invest in community-led violence prevention and intervention programs that work upstream (youth programming, street outreach, credible messenger intervention initiatives).
- Safe Gun Storage: laws that mandate that firearms are stored securely, often unloaded and locked, to prevent unauthorized access, especially by children
- Extreme Risk Protection Orders: “Red flag” laws that allow for the temporary removal of firearms from individuals deemed a danger to themselves or others, often based on a court order.
- Funding for Community-based Violence Prevention Programs that provide services such as case management, violence mediation, mentoring, mental health counseling, and community and partnership building to ensure the most effective provision of these services to at-risk youth and adults.
Lowering Barriers to Self-Sufficiency
We champion policies and practices that help individuals impacted by violence and abuse to be safe, heal, and have what they need to rebuild their lives, reduce the risk of returning to unsafe situations, and thrive independently:
- Increase access to safe, affordable housing and survivor-prioritized housing supports (rental assistance, relocation funds, emergency shelter).
- Expand employment and workforce programs with trauma-informed supports, childcare options, and flexible scheduling.
- Ensure survivors can access benefits, public assistance, and legal remedies without undue paperwork, language barriers, or punitive eligibility rules.
- Promote financial empowerment (cash assistance, financial counseling, tax/benefits filing help) and ban discriminatory practices that block survivors from credit or employment.
- Reducing the barriers to employment and education faced by individuals re-entering society.
- Support policies that protect individuals from unfair hiring and employment policies that block or terminate individuals based solely on cannabis drug tests.
Sentencing Reform for Drug Crimes
Supporting sentencing reform for drug crimes that:
- Considers any domestic or dating violence offenses and provides for mitigations for survivors coerced into criminal behavior
- Abolishes youth mandatory minimums including life imprisonment for youth