SPRINGFIELD, Ill, May 13, 2025 – A contingent of street outreach workers, case managers, victim
advocates and representatives from Community Violence Intervention (CVI) organizations across
Chicagoland converged onto Springfield today, May 13, for a CVI Rally and Legislative Action Day to
advocate for continued funding under the Reimagine Public Safety Act (RPSA). The organizations represented included Metropolitan Peace Initiatives (MPI), a division of Metropolitan Family Services (MFS), along with Communities Partnering 4 Peace (CP4P), Chicago CRED, Illinois Peace Project, and dozens of other CVI organizations.
Our hope is that all Illinoisians can see the value in CVI and the positive impact that it’s already made,”
said Vaughn Bryant, Executive Director of MPI. “People need to feel safe in their communities in order to
lead productive, dignified lives.”
Passed with bipartisan support by the Illinois State Legislature in 2021, the RPSA is a historic investment
made by the State of Illinois to reduce gun violence, promote safety across communities, and strengthen
available resources for those living in at-risk neighborhoods, among other goals. Funding for the RPSA is in Governor J.B. Pritzker’s budget proposal for FY2026 to ensure cities across Illinois have access to successful and sustained CVI programming. Representatives from CVI organizations took a moment to celebrate the 3-year reduction in gun violence already seen under the RPSA and to
advocate for continuous and sustained funding.
“The state has been a great partner with the CVI community and we’re hoping to strengthen that
partnership even more this year because the trends are all moving in the right direction and the research
affirms that CVI is working,” said Arne Duncan, founder of Chicago CRED. “We thank all of our partners in
Springfield for their leadership.”
Currently, gun violence is down 34 percent in Chicago compared to the same time frame last year.
“Many of the families who are affected from gun violence will say that they don’t know what they would
do if CVI weren’t here to help them,” said Sam Castro, Director of Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships at
the Institute for Nonviolence Chicago. “We are the community. We are changing our communities, and
we are public safety”
“With violence sharply declining, we need to hold the line on funding for the Reimagine Public Safety
Act,” said State Senator Robert Peters, one of RPSA’s co-sponsors. “It’s great to see our CVI partners from
across Illinois down here in Springfield helping us make that case and working together to make our
state even safer.”
“I’m here to fight with you in this fight to make sure that we hold the line on ensuring that we have
funding to continue to prevent violence in our communities, because our communities deserve that
investment,” said State Senator Celina Villanueva.
“RPSA is helping Illinois become a national leader in developing new and effective approaches to public
safety,” said State Senator Elgie Sims.
“Now is the time to stay the course, hold the line, help our residents become healthier and make our communities safer.”
Advocacy for CVI funding is needed now more than ever in the wake of the Department of Justice revoking 373 public safety grants across the nation, with the initial award values reaching over $819 million. In addition to violence prevention programs, grants for programs like substance abuse treatment, justice system improvements, child protection, and re-entry were terminated.