Commissioners: Save Lives, Invest In Restorative Justice
We can prevent violence in our communities by investing more in community-based Restorative Justice programs that literally save lives.
Last year, thanks to your emails, calls, testimonies, and presence at the Cook County Budget Hearings, the Reclaim Campaign was successful in helping to establish a new $500,000 fund for community-based Restorative Justice programs in the FY15 Cook County Budget.
We need your voice again. The current proposed budget for the FY16 Cook County Budget does not include any increase in funding for Restorative Justice programs.
The Cook County Jail population is significantly down and plans are in motion to tear down buildings, which will save the County millions of dollars next year. These savings should be reinvested in our communities to prevent violence.
Join the Reclaim Campaign in asking Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and the Cook County Board of Commissioners to increase funding for Restorative Justice programs from $500,000 to $2 million in the FY16 Budget. This amount is still miniscule compared to $326 million currently budgeted for the Cook County Jail in FY16.
We will be championing an amendment to the President’s budget proposal to increase funding for community-based Restorative Justice at each of the public hearings on the Cook County Budget in the next few weeks.
Sign up to attend a Cook County Budget Hearing in your community.
Thanks for being a part of this important work by emailing your County Commissioner and coming to a Cook County Budget hearing. Together we can increase transformative, lifesaving programs for our communities.