CP4P Leadership, Elected Officials Attend CVI Legislative Dinner to Push for Sustained Funding

Community violence intervention (CVI) leaders, advocates, and elected officials attend a legislative dinner on Tuesday, February 18 at Saputo’s in Springfield.

Leadership representing Metropolitan Peace Initiatives (MPI) and Communities Partnering 4 Peace (CP4P) made the trip downstate to Springfield on Tuesday, February 18 for a special community violence intervention (CVI) legislative dinner with a group of elected officials. All had one singular goal in mind: to advocate for and preserve CP4P funding for fiscal year 2026.

Among those in attendance were MPI Chief Program Officer Domonique McCord, New Life Centers Chief Executive Officer Matt DeMateo, UCAN CEO and President Christa Hamilton, Claretian Associates Chief Executive Officer Angela Hurlock, Enlace Chicago Co-Executive Director Cesar Nuñez, and Institute for Nonviolence Chicago Founder and Executive Director Teny Gross.

They were joined by a host of legislators who support CP4P and CVI efforts across Chicago. This included Representative Camille Lilly, Senator Lakesia Collins, Representative Justin Slaughter, Senator Robert Peters, Senator Celina Villanueva, Representative Theresa Mah, Representative Aarón Ortíz, Representative Nicholas Smith, and Representative Ann Williams. Together, they met on the eve of Governor JB Pritzker’s State of the State and Budget Address.

As McCord welcomed guests, she thanked them for their continued investment in the work of CVI. Their support has helped CP4P prevent at least 383 shootings (fatal and nonfatal) over the last five years, according to Northwestern University’s Center for Neighborhood Engaged Research and Science (CORNERS). Additionally, McCord noted that within a year after receiving services from a CP4P organization, participants were 44 percent less likely to become a shooting victim than the year prior.

“This is tough work and requires long-term investments and innovative solutions from public and private sectors,” McCord said. “We cannot lose this momentum. We cannot lose more lives to senseless shootings. A violence-free Illinois is possible, it just takes the support of everyone in this room.”

When speaking on the need for sustained funding, Gross added, “We want to be in that protected category, just like fire and police.”

From street outreach to case management to reentry assistance, and more, MPI and CP4P partners work tirelessly to serve their communities and keep their streets safe. Now more than ever, it’s imperative that the coalition gets the funding it needs to continue these life-saving efforts.