About ILJP
The Illinois Justice Project (ILJP) advances policing and practices that reduce violence, decrease prison recidivism and make the criminal legal system more equitable.
Established in 2014 as a continuation of the Justice and Violence Group at Metropolis Strategies, the Illinois Justice Project (ILJP) is a supporting organization of The Chicago Community Trust.
The team at ILJP continues to pursue the ideals of legal system reform identified at Metropolis Strategies. Please read more about ILJP staff below.
An Advisory Board provides counsel to the staff of the Illinois Justice Project. It is led by Esther Franco-Payne, the Executive Director of the Partnership for Safe and Peaceful Communities.
1 South Dearborn Street, Suite 1510, Chicago, IL 60603
312-332-8157 – info@iljp.org
For media inquiries, contact Annie Sweeney at annie@iljp.org
We work to develop meaningful, effective criminal legal system reforms that create opportunity and positive outcomes for youth, adults, and communities.
We seek to build a set of values that will create a criminal legal system true to the American promise of fairness and justice for all its people, regardless of race, class, or financial status.
We convene diverse groups of partners to identify pathways to reform and work to ensure those most directly impacted by the system advance the policy.
We believe hard work and collaboration will get us there.
Staff
MARGARET CUNLIFFE
Justice 20/20 Network Fellow
Margaret Cunliffe is the Justice 20/20 Network Fellow for ILJP. She discovered her passion for pursuing criminal legal reform in Illinois while working as a paralegal at the civil rights law firm Loevy & Loevy. At ILJP, Margaret coordinates projects, convenings, and research initiatives for Justice 20/20 and supports the strategic goals of the Network’s working groups.
Originally from Omaha, Nebraska, Margaret obtained her Bachelor’s degree in History from Columbia University in 2019. Upon graduating, she joined Loevy & Loevy, where she assisted with civil and criminal cases involving wrongful incarceration and police misconduct. Most recently, Margaret received her M.Sc. in Social Science of the Internet from the University of Oxford, where she was a Clarendon Scholar. Her thesis focused on the engagement of criminal legal stakeholders in the development process of the PATTERN risk assessment tool used in federal prisons.
AHMADOU DRAMÉ
Director
Ahmadou Dramé was promoted to Director of the Illinois Justice Project (ILJP) in June 2023 after serving as Program Director for two years. Throughout his career, he has called attention to the injustices of the criminal legal system, worked to empower people and communities impacted by mass incarceration and homelessness, and advocated to reduce society’s reliance on the criminal legal system as a response to racial, economic, and social inequities. Prior to joining ILJP, he was Housing and Community Development Policy Manager at the Metropolitan Planning Council, Director of Policy and Advocacy at Safer Foundation, and a community organizer on the west side of Chicago. He serves on several boards and commissions, including: the Albert Pick, Jr. Fund, the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority Board and Chair of its Budget Committee, the Illinois Affordable Housing Trust Fund Commission, the Cook County Equity Fund Task Force, and the Illinois Judicial Conference Committee on Improving Policy and Practices Governing Judicial Branch Requests for Information. He is a 2023 Leadership Greater Chicago Fellow. Ahmadou earned his bachelor’s degree in political science and master’s degree in public administration from DePaul University. And he recently married his wife, Tyree.
ISABEL KENNON
Program Specialist
Isabel Kennon has returned as a Program Specialist after serving as a Graduate Intern for ILJP in 2022. Passionate about criminal justice and housing policy, Isabel found a niche in reentry housing. She works to organize and implement projects for the Illinois Reentry Council and supports ILJP’s other convenings.
Previously, Isabel worked as an analyst with the South Side Housing Data Initiative in Chicago, worked on Latin American policy in DC, and on the COVID-19 response for Nashville, TN. Isabel also works to build support for abolishing the 13th Amendment loophole that allows slavery to continue as a “punishment for crimes,” and serves on the board for the Abolish Slavery National Network.
Isabel has a master’s degree from the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and a bachelor’s degree in Latin American Studies and Spanish from Washington University in St. Louis. She is from Nashville.
KELLY McNULTY
Operations and Program Manager
Kelly McNulty is Operations and Program Manager at ILJP where her assignments include administrative support for the Illinois Reentry Council, Justice 20/20, and ILJP’s leadership of coalitions, as well as event planning.
McNulty joined ILJP in 2021 after nearly five years as executive assistant to the executive director of Cabrini Green Legal Aid (CGLA), one of the state’s leading and largest criminal justice reform non-profits. At CGLA, she was involved in nearly every aspect of CGLA’s work in support of low-income individuals negatively impacted by the criminal legal system. She began her professional career in sales and later assisted with the administration of a Chicago fine art gallery devoted to antique natural history prints.
A Chicago resident, McNulty received a bachelor’s degree in music management from Columbia College Chicago.
JENNIE ROSAS
Program Assistant
Jennie Rosas is a Program Assistant at the Illinois Justice Project (ILJP), where she manages administrative tasks, coordinates schedules, and assists with financial responsibilities. Jennie provides key logistical support for major Illinois Justice Project convenings. Prior to her role at ILJP, Jennie worked as an Accounting Clerk at the Institute for Nonviolence in Chicago, a nonprofit that provides direct service and support to people most at risk for being harmed by gun violence in the city. At INVC, Jennie developed her skills in accounting and bookkeeping. Jennie also worked at the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago, an institution founded to support the economic vitality of the Chicago region.
A Chicago native with a Bachelor’s degree in Communications from the University of Illinois at Chicago, Jennie enjoys exploring the city with her husband and two daughters.
ANNIE SWEENEY
Communications Director
Annie Sweeney joined ILJP as communications director in December 2022 after covering crime, violence, and policing at both the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Tribune.
Annie has reported and written about individuals and neighborhoods most deeply impacted by violence, including community efforts to respond to gun violence. She explored gun trafficking routes to better understand the flow of firearms and exposed flaws in the state’s gun permitting systems. Her work at the Tribune included stories on incarcerated women and analyses of the Chicago Police Department’s workforce allocation and deployments.
Annie has a journalism degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a master’s degree in Peace Studies from Trinity College Dublin.
DONOVAN WILLIAMS
Program Specialist
Donovan Williams obtained his Bachelor of Arts in philosophy at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and a Master of Public Policy from the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy. He also studied abroad at the American College of Greece. Before joining ILJP, Donovan was a research assistant for UChicago Urban Labs and worked as a graduate analyst for Karp Strategies in New York. He is the co-founder and co-president of the Crime & Justice Policy Association at the Harris School. He was a volunteer debate teacher for the Rikers Debate Project in the Bronx and is a Justice Nerds Fellow at the Center for Policing Equity, headquartered in Denver.
Originally from the Bronx, Donovan now resides in the Hyde Park neighborhood.
PAULA WOLFF
Policy Advisor
From 2000 until the creation of the Illinois Justice Project in 2014, Paula Wolff was Senior Executive at Chicago Metropolis 2020 and Metropolis Strategies where she led the Justice and Violence Group, the predecessor to the Illinois Justice Project.
From 1992 to 2000, Wolff served as President of Governors State University. During her tenure at GSU, the budget doubled and enrollment grew by 22 percent to more than 9,000 students on the campus in Chicago’s south suburbs.
From 1977 to 1991, Wolff served as Director of Policy and Planning for Governor James R. Thompson. She directed the development and implementation of policy for all areas of state government, serving with her staff as liaison to 57 state agencies. She also worked for Governor Richard B. Ogilvie from 1969 to 1971.
In 1990-91, she directed Governor Jim Edgar’s Transition Team, as she had participated in Governor James R. Thompson’s in 1976-77. In 2014-15, she co-chaired Governor Bruce Rauner’s Public Safety Transition Policy Committee; in 2018-19, she served on the Governor Pritzker/Lt. Governor Stratton Transition Committee as well.
Wolff has been a college professor and visiting lecturer at several universities. She lectured at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy from 1991 to 1992 and again between 2000-2012, and she taught a public policy graduate seminar regularly while President at GSU.
Wolff has a bachelor’s degree from Smith College and a master’s and doctorate in political science from the University of Chicago.
Wolff serves on numerous boards including the Johnson Foundation, the Irving Harris Foundation, Ariel Investments, and emerita on the University of Chicago Medical Center Board and the University of Chicago Board of Trustees. Wolff is Vice President of the Chicago Police Board and the former chair of the City Colleges of Chicago Board and also the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority.
Illinois Justice Project Advisory Board
ILJP’s diverse advisory board is comprised of representatives of community organizations, business, labor, and civic groups from across the Chicago region. Affiliations are for identification purposes only.
- Esther Franco-Payne, Partnership for Safe and Peaceful Communities, Chair
- Delrice Adams, Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority
- Gerald W. Adelmann, Openlands, Retired
- James L. Alexander, The Elizabeth Morse Genius Charitable Trust & The Elizabeth Charitable Trust
- Daniel Anello, Kids First Chicago
- Frank H. Beal, Civic Consulting Alliance
- Eddie Bocanegra, U.S. Department of Justice
- Walter Boyd, St. Leonard’s Ministries, retired
- Dr. Byron T. Brazier, Apostolic Church of God
- John A. Canning Jr., Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC
- Frank M. Clark, ComEd, Retired
- Nora Daley-Conroy, Illinois Arts Council
- Ronald E. Daly, Océ North America, Retired
- Derek Douglas, Civic Committee and the Commercial Club of Chicago
- Judy Erwin, Kivvit
- Garien Gatewood, City of Chicago
- Jack M.Greenberg, The Western Union Company, Retired
- Gene Griffin, Child Trauma Network
- M. Hill Hammock, Verit Advisors
- King Harris, Illinois Housing Development Authority
- Lanetta Haynes Turner, Office of the Cook County Board President
- Adolfo Hernandez, J.B. and M.K. Pritzker Family Foundation
- David Hiller, Robert R. McCormick Foundation, Retired
- Grace B. Hou, Office of the Governor
- Anna LauBach, Robert R. McCormick Foundation
- Susan Lee, Chicago CRED
- Alderman Matt Martin, 47th Ward of Chicago
- John McCarter, Field Museum, Retired
- Public Defender Sharone Mitchell, Jr., Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender
- David Mosena, Museum of Science & Industry, Retired
- Michael H. Moskow, The Chicago Council on Global Affairs
- Heidi Mueller, Illinois Department of Children and Family Services
- Era Patterson, Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender
- Aurie Pennick, Esq., Field Foundation of Illinois, Retired
- Quinn K. Rallins, Loevy & Loevy
- George Ranney, Metropolis Strategies, Retired
- Raul I. Raymundo, The Resurrection Project
- Jesse H. Ruiz, Vistria
- Andrea Sáenz, The Chicago Community Trust
- Maria Saldaña, General Counsel, Illinois Sports Facilities Authority
- Bryan Samuels, Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago
- Adele S. Simmons, Global Philanthropy Partnership
- Don V. Villar, Chicago Federation of Labor
Financial Support
- Arnold Ventures
- The Chicago Community Trust
- Dr. Scholl Foundation
- Elizabeth Morse Charitable Trust
- Elizabeth Morse Genius Charitable Trust
- Harris Family Foundation
- J.B. and M.K. Pritzker Family Foundation
- JPMorgan Chase
- Joyce Foundation
- MacArthur Foundation
- Robert R. McCormick Foundation
- Polk Bros. Foundation
- Woods Fund of Chicago