In January 2021, the Illinois General Assembly passed the most comprehensive criminal justice reform legislation in recent memory. It includes an end to cash bail and reforms in sentencing, policing and crime victim compensation. The Joyce Foundation, Illinois Justice Project, and BPI hosted a briefing to discuss the key elements of the 700-page bill.

Special thanks to the panelists:

• Senator Elgie R. Sims, Jr., Illinois' 17th Congressional District
  
• Kathryn Bocanegra, assistant professor in the Jane Addams College of Social Work at the University of Illinois Chicago
• John Maki, director of innovations at Alliance for Safety and Justice
• Sharone Mitchell, director of the Illinois Justice Project
• Shareese Pryor, senior staff counsel and director of justice reform at BPI

The Joyce Foundation is a nonpartisan, private foundation that invests in evidence-based public policies and strategies to advance racial equity and economic mobility for the next generation in the Great Lakes region. It promotes safe and just communities through grant making in the areas of violence prevention, 21st Century policing and reducing mass incarceration.