June 2024 Newsletter: Action Towards Justice

On Wednesday, May 8th, we celebrated the 55th anniversary of Impact for Equity with a sold-out event at Venue West! We were thrilled to honor Andrea Zopp with the 2024 Champion of the Public Interest Award, and Lucy Ascoli with the Spirit of Equity Award. The evening also included a powerful fireside chat with Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability President Anthony Driver, where they discussed the future of social justice. A huge thank you to our attendees, host committee and sponsors for making the night a success!

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Couldn’t make it to the event, but want to support our continued work for social justice? Click here.

The State of the SAFE-T Act Series: Uneven and Slow Progress

The Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today Act (SAFE-T Act) is an Illinois statute enacted in 2021 that reformed several laws related to the criminal justice system, including provisions on policing practices. The team at Impact for Equity did a deep dive to examine the effectiveness and implementation of three SAFE-T Act reforms related to policing: body-worn cameras, use-of-force policies, and the decertification (or de-licensing) of officers for misconduct. What we found is that while these hard-won reforms show great promise, implementation across the State is lacking.

Body-Worn Cameras

New Use-of-Force Provisions

Police Officer Decertification

Alarming Rise in Traffic Stops by Chicago Police Department in 2023

In April, Impact for Equity and the Free2Move Coalition released a report with new data about traffic stops in Chicago: in 2023 alone the Chicago Police Department (CPD) made over 537,000 traffic stops, the second highest number in two decades. The alarming trend of CPD making traffic stops for minor violations was also found to be ineffective and discriminatory, with CPD using these stops as a pretext to search for criminal activity, particularly in Black and Latine communities. Despite the high volume, the vast majority of these stops do not lead to CPD finding any evidence of criminal activity whatsoever.

The release of this report became all the more relevant when, just days later, video was released of the killing of motorist Dexter Reed by CPD officers who claim to have stopped Reed for not wearing a seatbelt. Impact for Equity and the Free2Move Coalition have called on Mayor Johnson, CPD Superintendent Snelling, and the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability to end CPD’s practice of making pretextual traffic stops and to adopt a policy to limit traffic stops for certain low-level offenses. If this policy had been in place, this incident may have been prevented.

Read the full report here: Chicago 2023 Traffic Stops Data Report.

Fair Housing Month

Did you know that April was Fair Housing Month? To celebrate, we joined forces with the Chicago Area Fair Housing Alliance to discuss why land owned by the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) has stayed empty for over 20 years since public housing was demolished under the Plan for Transformation. Panelists and audience members agreed there needs to be more pressure on the City and CHA to fill the long-vacant land with housing and community development in the Chicago area.

Learn more about Impact for Equity’s assessment of CHA land in our report: Building on Opportunity .

Impact for Equity In the News

WTTW: Staff Counsel Amy Thompson discusses with Heather Cherone the 2023 Traffic Stops Data report findings. Chicago police stopped Black and Latino drivers more often than others in many traffic stops that did not make the city safer, despite Superintendent Larry Snelling's promises to focus on dangerous drivers and criminal activities.

Chicago Sun-Times, Letters to the Editor: Polikoff-Gautreaux Fellow Ashley Meeder's op-ed discusses how Mayor Johnson's proposed housing and economic development bond plan, including a social housing revolving fund, could potentially fund redevelopment of the 130 acres of vacant CHA land.

The Triibe: The release of COPA footage depicting the incident involving Dexter Reed during a traffic stop in Humbolt Park has sparked a demand for justice from Reed's family and community organizations. Tonia Hill correlates this stop with data provided in Impact for Equity and Free2Move’s joint 2023 Traffic Stops report.

ABC-7 Chicago: Executive Director Cara Hendrickson, sits with the ABC-7 I-Team to discuss the alarming statistics found in Impact for Equity and Free2Move's joint 2023 Traffic Stops report and the ineffectiveness of these stops in addressing public safety.

Chicago Tribune, Letters to the Editor: Executive Director Cara Hendrickson addresses recent criticisms of State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s draft plan to limit prosecutions for contraband from certain traffic stops, emphasizing the need for comprehensive reform involving all public safety officials in order to end this harmful practice.

Chicago Tribune: Staff Counsel, Andrea Dantus discusses with Caroline Kubzansky the evolution of police district councils in 2023, highlighting both the advancements made and the challenges encountered along the way.

Welcome Our Newest Staff Members

Brice Kanzer, Managing Director of Development and External Relations

Brice brings over 15 years of expertise in nonprofit fundraising to her position as Managing Director of Development and External Relations. With a career spanning museums, social service and higher education, she is thrilled to be part of a vibrant team committed to fighting injustice and housing inequity in Chicago and beyond. She previously worked in Development and External Relations at the Art Institute of Chicago, Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago, Columbia College Chicago, and Center on Halsted.

Learn more about Brice here !

Daniel Kay Hertz, Director of Housing

Daniel leads Impact for Equity’s Housing Program with a focus on removing barriers and promoting housing choice across the Chicago region and Illinois. Before joining Impact for Equity, he served as the Director of Policy, Research, and Legislative Affairs at the Chicago Department of Housing, where he played a leadership role in successful efforts to strengthen tenant protections, reform the city’s zoning laws through an equitable, transit-oriented development lens, and pass a $1.25 billion housing and economic development bond that seeded the country’s largest municipal social housing revolving fund. In 2018, Daniel published the book The Battle of Lincoln Park: Urban Renewal and Gentrification in Chicago. He was named to Crain’s Chicago 40 Under 40 in 2022.

Learn more about Daniel here !

Meet Our Summer Interns

Emily LaFlamme is a rising 3L at Loyola University Chicago. She has a passion for youth advocacy and hopes to spend her career contributing to the dismantling of systemic inequalities.

April Guevara Espinoza is a first-generation Mexican American and rising 3L at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. She is motivated by building the power of the people.

Simone Montgomery is a 2L at the University of California, Davis, School of Law (King Hall). She is passionate about legal work that helps people access basic needs like housing and water.

Meet an IFE Summer Intern Alum

Rigo Fernandez is an alumni of Impact for Equity’s summer intern program. He graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in Social Policy and Civic Engagement before attending Chicago-Kent College of Law. He interned with Impact for Equity in Summer 2020 and despite the limitations imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Rigo made his mark on the organization. Rigo now works at the Cook County State’s Attorney Office and remains committed to the mission and vision of Impact for Equity. Watch here to learn more about Rigo.

Watch Rigo's Story

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