CHICAGO – In an effort to address decades of neglect and disinvestment in Black communities, the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus stands with the movement to improve the quality of Black lives and is crafting a legislative agenda that continues their work to address systemic racism in Illinois.
The COVID-19 pandemic and recent civil unrest have amplified the racial inequities in our community making it undeniable that sweeping reforms are mandatory to combat racism. The plans will be built through four pillars of policy:
- Criminal justice reform, violence reduction and police accountability
- Education and workforce development
- Economic access, equity and opportunity
- Health care and human services
Each pillar will have a series of Senate committee hearings starting with criminal justice, violence reduction and police accountability. Tuesday’s Senate hearing will focus on police accountability, including discussions about use of force and law enforcement training.
Who: Illinois Legislative Black Caucus
When: Sept. 1, press conference at 10 a.m., virtual Senate committee hearing at 12 p.m.
Where: The press conference will be held at the Westside Justice Center, 601 S. California Ave., Chicago. The hearing can be watched at https://ilga.gov/senateaudvid.asp at noon. Both will also be on www.blueroomstream.com, a subscription-based service.
