Quantcast

Prairie State Wire

Wednesday, July 23, 2025

Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, Missing and Murdered Chicago Women Task Force met June 9

Webp 3

David E. Olson, PhD. - Chair | ICJIA Board | Loyola University Chicago

David E. Olson, PhD. - Chair | ICJIA Board | Loyola University Chicago

Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, Missing and Murdered Chicago Women Task Force met June 9.

Here are the minutes provided by the authority:

Task Force Member Attendance 

WebEx 

Absent

Dr. Adrienne Adams

x

Verda Bhatti, Between Friends

x

Carrie Boyd, ILCADV

x

State Representative Kambium Buckner

x

Margaret Duval, Ascend Justice

x

Jennifer Greene, Life Span

x

Representative Jackie Haas

x

Senator Mattie Hunter

x

Major Abigail Keller, Illinois State Police

x

Thomas Lemmer, Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police

x

Senator Seth Lewis

x

Rebeca Perrone, Cook County Medical Examiner

x

Amanda Pyron, The Network Advocating Against Domestic Violence

x

Mandy Sark, Chicago Missing Person’s Guild

x

Teresa Smith

x

Scheherazade Tillet, A Long Walk Home

x

Cristina Villarreal, Planned Parenthood of Illinois

x

Diane Walsh, Office of the Chief Judge, Circuit Court of Cook County

x

Carrie Ward, Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault

x

Also present were: 

Angela McLemore, Executive Assistant, Senator Hunter’s Office

Loren Gutierrez, Managing Attorney, Legal Aid Society of Metropolitan Family Services Alex Johnson, Supervising Attorney, Legal Aid Society of Metropolitan Family Services

ICJIA Staff Present: 

Brianna Martin, Associate General Counsel

Amanda Vasquez, Research Manager

Vincent Sarna, Task Force Coordinator and Report Writer

Karen Galbraith, Project Coordinator

Minutes by: Karen Galbraith, ICJIA Project Coordinator

I. CALL TO ORDER/ OPENING REMARKS 

• Chairperson Senator Hunter called the meeting to order at

12:04 P.M.

II. ROLL CALL 

• Brianna Martin, ICJIA’s Associate General Counsel, took roll and quorum was reached.

III. OLD BUSINESS 

• A motion to approve the minutes from the May 12, 2025, meeting was made by Vice Chair Mandy Sark and seconded by Diane Walsh. Members voted to approve the minutes. There were no nay votes nor abstentions.

IV.NEW BUSINESS 

• Presentation: Loren Gutierrez, Managing Attorney, and Alex Johnson, Supervising Attorney, Legal Aid Society of Metropolitan Family Services, provided an overview of their organization, services, and their work with survivors.

o Key Takeaways from the presentation and discussion included the importance of:

▪ Prioritizing survivor voices and ensuring laws, policies, and practices are survivor-informed and survivor-centered

▪ Improving access to services, including housing, healthcare, and education, as prevention and intervention for human trafficking and other forms of gender-based violence

▪ Addressing barriers to reporting and help-seeking (such as additional training for law enforcement, connections and collaborations with service providers who can meet diverse needs of survivors)

▪ Recognizing that systemic and societal oppression and inequity – such as poverty, immigration status, gender, race, etc…, create vulnerabilities that increase risk of abuse and exploitation

• Report Writing Subcommittee Report 

Vice Chair Mandy Sark provided a summary of the subcommittee’s May meeting. She shared the subcommittee’s strategies for seeking input and feedback from Task Force members and noted the importance of responding the Key Takeaways Survey after each meeting with actionable suggestions and recommendations. After each presentation, Karen will follow-up with presenters to thank them for their presentation and will ask for any additional input on recommendations or information for the Task Force’s consideration. She also noted that the subcommittee is working on planning a panel of survivors and families to record a presentation for the Task Force. Please see the attached slides.

• Recommendations Discussion 

Members of the Report Writing Subcommittee (Mandy Sark, Jennifer

Greene, and Cristina Villareal) prepared slides that provided summaries of Task Force presentations from October 2024 through May 2025. Vincent Sarna and Jennifer Greene facilitated the discussion. Members discussed and identified important considerations from past meetings and provided input to inform draft recommendations. The discussion will be continued during the July meeting.

• Next Meeting: Vice Chair Sark reminded members that the next task force meeting will be held on Monday, July 14, 2025, 12 pm.

V. PUBLIC COMMENT 

• Chair Senator Hunter opened the floor to members of the public. There were no public comments.

VI. ADJOURNMENT 

• Senator Hunter requested a motion to adjourn the meeting.

Motion: Cristina Villareal

Seconded By: Carrie Ward

Vote: The motion passed. No Nays. No abstentions.

The meeting was adjourned at 1:30 pm.

https://agency.icjia-api.cloud/uploads/Missing_and_Murdered_Task_Force_Minutes_6_9_2025_Minutes_FINAL_42f88e4769.pdf