Since stepping into office on May 15, [Chicago Mayor Brandon] Johnson has announced four key positions and a 44-person transition subcommittee to lead the charge around public safety specifically. The subcommittee includes academics, organizers, politicians, first responders, faith leaders, educators, business people, native Chicagoans, and organizers who were formerly incarcerated. The group has 13 people with experience in violence prevention or reduction, 25 people with experience organizing around social justice, public safety, or police reform, six business leaders, and four former first responders.

“It’s important to have a diverse group from different perspectives because there is no one solution to ending gun violence,” said the Reverend Ciera Bates-Chamberlain, executive director of Live Free Illinois and a member of the Council of Criminal Justice’s Violent Crime Working Group.