Toast to Justice Event Series: June 15, 2021
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Previous Toast to Justice Events
In January 2021, we welcomed Professors Jennifer Lackey and John Alba Cutler of Northwestern University and the Northwestern Prison Education Program (NPEP). NPEP is an initiative of Northwestern University that provides college courses to incarcerated individuals in Illinois. NPEP is the only degree-granting program in the state providing a full liberal arts curriculum to incarcerated students. Watch this recorded event here.
In 2020 Toast to Justice spoke with special guest Mr. Colemon Jefferson to learn about his experience inside the Illinois prison system, which included 22 years as a paralegal in a prison law library. Mr. Jefferson now works at a halfway house in Chicago assisting returning citizens with re-entry. If you missed the event, watch it here.
“Ballots Behind Bars:
A Discussion on Incarceration and Voting Rights”
The Second Event in JHA's 2021 Virtual Toast to Justice Series
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We thank our generous half year sponsor The Prinz Law Firm, event sponsor LAGBAC Chicago’s LGBTQ+ Bar Association, and technology sponsor Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP.
Across the United States, over 6 million Americans are barred from voting through felon disenfranchisement laws. This panel will delve into the crucial—and timely—issue of voting rights and incarceration with speakers who are actively involved in expanding enfranchisement in Illinois. We’ll discuss voting access in jails, the movement to eliminate the ban on voting for people who are currently incarcerated, and how formerly incarcerated people regain the right to vote during re-entry.
We were thrilled to host a discussion between the following leaders in the field of voting rights for currently and formerly incarcerated individuals:
Renaldo Hudson, a former death row inmate and Education Director of the Illinois Prison Project, an organization fighting against excessive sentences in Illinois. Renaldo is an educator, minister, and community organizer who helped formerly incarcerated people register to vote. Renaldo has recently joined the Board of Directors of JHA.
Juliet Sorensen, Executive Director of Injustice Watch, a nonprofit journalism organization exposing institutional obstacles to justice and equality. Juliet has been a Clinical Professor of Law at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law since 2010, where she teaches in the areas of public corruption, health as a human right, and international criminal law.
Alexandria Boutros, Community Organizing Manager at Chicago Votes, an organization that helps engage and develop young people in Chicago. After Illinois passed the Re-Entering Citizens Civics Education Act, Alexandria spearheaded the civics curriculum development for every person leaving Illinois prisons. She is currently advocating for legislative initiatives that would restore the right to vote for individuals in Illinois prisons.