Cook County Violence Against Women Task Force Meeting - April 21, 2026
Cook County Violence Against Women Task Force Meeting - April 21, 2026
The Chicago Cook County Violence Against Women Task Force met on April 21, 2026, to receive presentations on domestic violence services, data, funding, and policy recommendations. The meeting included public testimony from two survivors, presentations from three organizations, and robust discussion among commissioners regarding gaps in services, particularly in the South Suburban area, and the need for sustainable funding and better data.
Public Comments & Testimony
- First Speaker (unidentified): Expressed concern about a detective teaching a concealed carry class who allegedly told students it was okay to abuse women. The speaker reported the incident to the sheriff's office but noted the detective is still teaching, raising questions about accountability.
- Sarah Brown (survivor): Testified about the challenges of raising a child with an abuser and the lack of resources in the Southland region. She criticized the county's $4.2 million allocation for domestic violence services (citing $1.92 per woman) and called for more equitable funding and data collection for the South Suburbs.
Discussion Items
- Presentation by Madeline Fairer (The Network Advocating Against Domestic Violence): Presented 2024 hotline data: nearly 60,000 contacts (26% increase from 2023, 140% from 2019), with half from Cook County. Top request was emergency shelter (one-third of contacts). There are only 700 shelter beds statewide; Cook County suburbs had 188 days with zero beds available. Recommended better data, a dedicated county funding stream, a point person/office for gender-based violence, and focusing on community-based services beyond the criminal legal system.
- Presentation by Christina Kappa (Justice Advisory Council - JAC): Described JAC's domestic violence funding portfolio under ARPA, which totaled $7.7 million from 2023 through September 2026, supporting legal aid, housing, and advocacy. A pilot in court-based services served 930 individuals in one year. Acknowledged gaps in the South Suburbs and noted that most court-based service recipients came from north and northwest suburbs, not the Southland. Committed to better coordinating with city and state post-ARPA.
- Presentation by Jennifer Wells (Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence): Highlighted a statewide increase in domestic violence homicides and a 7-day increase in average shelter stays. Noted that most survivors file orders of protection without legal representation and face judicial bias. Discussed pending state legislation (HB) to expand remote hearings, clarify extension of orders of protection, and address technology-facilitated harassment. The bill has passed committee in both chambers.
- Commissioner Questions and Discussion: Commissioner Stamps raised concerns about lack of diversity among presenters, urging inclusion of Black and brown women as subject matter experts. Commissioner McCaskill repeatedly emphasized the persistent service gap in the South Suburbs and demanded data on program effectiveness and grantee performance. Commissioner Anaya asked about dedicated funding streams post-ARPA and academic evaluation partnerships. Commissioner Degnan inquired about sustainability of funding and the feasibility of regular data requests from courts.
Key Outcomes
- The task force will aim to produce a report with recommendations by July 2026.
- Commissioners will explore a formal data request to the Office of the Chief Judge for aggregate order of protection data, as recommended by presenters.
- The task force will compile a comprehensive list of geographically-specific donation resources for domestic violence shelters.
- Support for the pending state bill (HB) on remote hearings, tech harassment, and OP extensions will be formalized through witness slips and advocacy.
- JAC will work to provide detailed grantee performance data to commissioners, including metrics on clients served and outcomes.
- The task force will consider recommending a dedicated county funding stream for gender-based violence services and a central point person/office to coordinate countywide efforts.
Meeting Transcript
The Chicago Cook County Violence Against Women Task Force to Order. So good morning, everybody. Um, Amy, are there any registered public speakers? There is Sarah Brown. Are you here? Okay. Any other registered public speakers? No. Did you sign up? Okay, perfect. Then you can come to the right. Oh, that's the end of that. Members of the public who wish to testify have until twenty-four hours before the schedule started the meeting to register in order to do so. Speakers will have three minutes to address the task force and will be alerted when they have one minute time remaining, when thirty seconds remain, and when the time has expired. And this detective, the one that was giving the classes, almost we just needed one day to finish the course, and he started telling everybody that it was okay to abuse the woman to him and abuse him. And I was like listening. And I'm like, am I listening right to what this detective is telling all his students? And I raised my hand and I said, you know what? It's not okay to abuse women, children, men, or anybody. And he goes like, um, I don't know, I don't remember what he said. And then I turned back. There was a man sitting in back a minute, and I go, oh, honey, you know what? I love being beaten up, beat me up. And the man in fact me said, I don't speak English. I'm like, wait, who from this class speaks English? They only three persons spoke English. This detective is giving an English class, concealed weapon to non-speaking, they're the majority, all were his family. That is a really concern for me, especially when he starts saying that it's okay to be to feed up the woman. Um, I don't know. I did go to Tabaris' office. He's still doing the service, he's still working there, giving the concealed weapons. Is he still telling the people that it's okay to beat up woman? Thank you. Thank you. Oh, I can include your public speakers. Thank you. Thanks again for your testimony. Okay, thank you all for your willingness to serve on this task force. I wanted to acknowledge my colleagues who are also here in the room, Commissioner Anaya, Commissioner Degnan, Commissioner McCaskill. So thank you all for being here. Were there any other elected officials in the room? No. Okay. Okay, Commissioner Stamps just walked in. Thank you all for being here. So now Katie Dunn has been helping us organize and facilitate these meetings. And I wanted to just get right into the presentation. So Katie will assist in introducing our presenters. Thank you, Katie. Fantastic.
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