Founded in 2019, the Illinois Alliance for Reentry & Justice is an organization that serves as the network facilitator dedicated to dreaming and remaking justice into systems of care and accountability that serve everyone’s needs. By uniting currently and formerly incarcerated individuals, those directly impact, service providers, advocates, stakeholders, and allies, ILARJ fosters a comprehensive, 360-degree perspective on justice revolutionized and remade.

ILARJ is led entirely by individuals from BIPOC, marginalized, and directly impacted communities — people whose lived experience informs every facet of our work. This grounding in firsthand knowledge is not just foundational; it’s our greatest strength.

Complementing this internal leadership is a robust, statewide network of

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Outside Partners

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This network is the foundation of our work to disrupt the historical harms caused by criminalization and incarceration. As we imagine and implement abolitionist strategies, we are intentionally expanding our ecosystem to include labor unions, public health institutions, mutual aid networks, and academic partners committed to co-governance and participatory design.

We engage others by centering lived experience, offering strategic collaboration rooted in equity, and creating shared spaces for visioning, feedback, and accountability. Our model invites partners not just to support our work but to transform theirs, aligning with a collaborative, community focused future where system-impacted people lead, decide, and build.

Our system-impacted community members are not passive recipients of reform — they are essential co-strategists shaping the solutions, policies, and priorities of today.