The Illinois Justice Project (ILJP) is searching for a new staff member or consultant to help us explain the problems with the criminal legal system and the solutions needed to make the system more effective, equitable and efficient. This person will use research findings and data to advocate for policies and practices that make communities safer.

ILJP, a non-profit created in 2015, is a supporting organization of the Chicago Community Trust. We have a track record of success, often working in coalitions with other groups and individuals committed to justice reform.

We seek a knowledgeable advocate - someone who understands how the criminal legal system fits in with overall state government structures and recognizes both the failings of the system and how the system can be improved.

We seek a good communicator - someone with strong skills as a writer and the ability to explain and convince audiences new to the issues as well as those with preconceived opinions we hope to change.

We seek a helpful colleague - someone to help all of us become better communicators and maximize the organization’s impact.

Position Responsibilities:

Strategy

Help us think through how we can build more support for our goals among the general public and government leaders. We’re working on several issues, including - to name a few - how to help formerly incarcerated people become successful outside of prison walls, reducing the number of people coming in contact with the system, reform of police practices, expansion of trauma responses, and reduction of gun violence.

Observe and Act

Keep ILJP staff members informed of articles and opinion pieces about criminal justice developments in Illinois and across the nation. Watch for opportunities for ILJP to engage in issue debates and advance our goals. This includes compilation of a weekly summary of Illinois system broadcast and print news and opinion pieces.

Traditional Media Relations

Help us deliver messages through traditional media of print, radio and television. This will involve news releases, drafting commentaries, fielding questions from journalists, arranging interviews with ILJP staff, managing a database of media contacts, writing talking points and coaching spokespersons for media interviews and public speaking engagements.

Digital

Help us overhaul the ILJP website and build a presence on social media platforms. ILJP has engaged a website development firm but has not yet begun the rebuild process. The new colleague will work with that firm to create an engaging, informative and polished website and will keep the site fresh with updates. The colleague will help determine whether ILJP should be active on social media and if so, which platforms should be used and what messages to deliver.

Communications Training

In addition to helping ILJP staff improve their own abilities as communicators, the new colleague will manage the Morse-Genius Communications Initiative, a project begun in 2020 that helps improve the messaging and communications abilities of other non-profit organizations working to reform the criminal legal system. More than two dozen organizations have participated in the initiative, which provides without charge five Zoom workshops run by experts in communicating via traditional and social media. By bringing the communications staffs and executive directors of organizations together, we are creating strategies about messaging and building their capacity to communicate about criminal justice. The participating organizations are becoming better able to influence the policy process and encourage policymakers to remain committed to reform, which is the central goal of the project.
Required Experience:

Type or Copy/Paste Requirements here
From: The Chicago Community Trust