SPRINGFIELD – In response to Governor J.B Pritzker's signing of the latest state budget, which includes investments in public safety, victim support, and behavioral health, the Alliance for Safety and Justice (ASJ) released the following statement from Aswad Thomas, Vice President at ASJ and the National Director for Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice (CSSJ)

“The past two years have been an especially challenging time for Illinois communities who have historically been underserved by the current public safety system. With the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbating and stressing cycles of trauma, the need for increased investments in alternative approaches to safety has never been more urgent.

Last month, over 200 survivors from Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice marched in Springfield to elevate the needs of victims and demand policies that help tackle the root causes of crime. Our voices and our stories echoed throughout the capitol, and today, Governor Prizker helped reaffirm Illinois' commitment to helping survivors.

The latest state budget includes major investments for trauma recovery centers and a half billion dollars in public safety investments – critical funding that bolsters the state's existing victim support infrastructure to address trauma and lift up communities most impacted by violence. This funding builds upon previous progress in expanding Illinois' support for victims, and sets the state on the course towards even greater future investments to make communities safer.

The Illinois chapter of Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice represents 11,000 diverse survivors of crime and violence from across the state. We thank Governor Pritzker, Leader Jehan Gordon-Booth, and Senators Robert Peters and Elgie Sims for standing with survivors. We look forward to continuing our work together to make Illinois safer for all.”

About the Alliance for Safety and Justice

The Alliance for Safety and Justice is a national organization that aims to win new safety priorities in states across the country. It partners with leaders to advance state reform through networking, coalition building, research, education and advocacy. It also brings together diverse crime survivors to advance policies that help communities most harmed by crime and violence, as part of Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice – its national network of over 90,000 crime survivors with 11,000 members in Illinois. For more information, visit: https://allianceforsafetyandjustice.org or https://cssj.org.

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