April 24, 2025

The Racial Justice Initiative’s final spring 2025 event—co-sponsored by the Center for Public Interest Law, the Pro Bono and Community Service Initiative, and the Office of Professional & Career Development—was a luncheon and small group conversation with Sue Pak, CGLA’s Director of Development, and Nicole Schur, former CGLA Senior Attorney and current RJI Fellow. 

Sue and Nicole discussed how criminal records function as permanent punishments, effectively barring individuals who have completed their sentences from, among other things, securing safe housing, reliable employment, or entry into educational programs. They also provided an overview of the sealing and expungement process in Cook County, explained the various barriers to relief individuals face when pursuing sealing and expungement, and described the various ways students can get involved in the work.

April 24, 2025

The Center for Public Interest along with RJI and the Pro Bono & Community Service Initiative, and the Public Interest Law Association welcomed Sister Helen Prejean— a Nobel Peace Prive Finalist and bestselling author of Dead Man Walking—for brunch and a conversation on her lifelong fight to end the death penalty. Sister Helen discussed her experiences as an activist and shared her hopes for a future free from state-sponsored murder.  

March 18, 2025

RJI participated in DePaul Law’s Spring Community Conversation: “Immigration in Turmoil Discussion - Confronting the Crisis.” The conversation was led by a panel comprising of Professor Craig Mousin, the founder and former Director of the Midwest Immigrant Rights Center; Sioban Albiol, the Director of DePaul’s Asylum and Immigration Law Clinic; Vanessa Esparza-Lopez, DePaul alum and the Associate Director of Legal Services for the National Immigrant Justice Center; and Nicole Schur, RJI’s Racial Justice Fellow.  

The panel discussed the actions taken by the Trump Administration in its attempt to implement the largest mass deportation effort in U.S. history, the long- and short-term effects of these actions on immigrant communities, and resources for those in need as well as ways students and community members can support vulnerable communities in Chicago.

February 19, 2025

DePaul Law’s Racial Justice Initiative and Center for Public Interest Law hosted a panel discussion about the 2019 consent decree with the Chicago Police Department and the future of police reform in Chicago. The event, moderated by DePaul Professor of Law Jesse Cheng, featured expert panelists including Professor Craig Futterman, founder and director of the University of Chicago’s Civil Rights & Police Accountability Project; Alexandra Block, director of Criminal Legal Systems & Policing Project at the ACLU of Illinois; and Loren Jones, director of Criminal Legal Systems Program at Impact for Equity.

The event was co-sponsored by the Black Law Student Association, the Public Interest Law Association and the Asian Pacific American Law Student Association.

April 18-19, 2024

In a moment marked by both retrenchment and hope, the inaugural Racial Justice Initiative Summit served as a platform for bringing together social justice leaders to ignite meaningful conversations on critical issues, including criminal legal reform, the state of racial justice in Chicago and Illinois, and the role of the legal academy in advancing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) amidst broader attacks on DEI across the country. 

• Featured Speakers: Sharone Mitchell, Cook County Public Defender and Ahmadou “Mo” Dramé, Director, Illinois Justice Project

• Distinguished Speaker: Julián Castro, Former Mayor, San Antonio, TX; Former Secretary, Housing and Urban Development, Obama Administration 

 

January 17, 2024

Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx has been a staunch advocate for reform and change — from exonerations for wrongful convictions, expungement for past marijuana convictions, to bond reform — she encouraged students to stay vigilant in the fight for justice.

October 18, 2023

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul is an advocate for gun safety reform, consumer protection, police accountability and environmental justice. The Attorney General regularly coordinates his advocacy efforts with other state attorneys general to defend access to quality healthcare and reproductive health services for all, protect our natural resources, fight for just immigration policies, curb gun violence, and to uphold civil rights for all individuals.

February 15, 2023

The racial Justice Initiative's Kick off event discussed the urgent issues surrounding racial justice in Illinois and the nation.

Special thanks to our esteemed panelists Stephen Blandin, Ami Gandhi, Professor Christina Rivers, Aisha Edwards and Tony Romanucci, who shared their own experiences using law in attempts to further racial and societal equity. Topics ranged from voting rights and felon disenfranchisement to housing inequality and police accountability.

This event was featured in the The DePaulia.