Vickie Smith

President and CEO

 Founded in 1978, Life Span provides comprehensive services for survivors and children, enabling them to live without violence, build upon their strengths and become self-sufficient. By defining domestic violence as a crime as well as a social problem, Life Span is committed to providing victims of domestic violence and sexual assault a range of options, including legal services, advocacy and counseling.

Life Span has offices in Des Plaines and Chicago. The agency has been funded by ICADV for many years and we are excited to have them join the Coalition, making the statewide voice for survivors even stronger!

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Advocacy work is about advancing our mission and bringing about lasting change for survivors in our communities. This last legislative session, ICADV took on the momentous task of asking the Illinois General Assembly for a substantial funding investment in the state's Department of Human Services line item for domestic violence services. This decision was made at the November 2021 Program Council meeting, and we knew we were starting this legislative push a little late. We were hopeful we would receive a substantial increase in the Governor’s budget that was announced in February 2022 but that did not happen. The full legislative push was on. How did ICADV accomplish a $50 million increase in the state line item for domestic violence services?

Our membership truly embraced this effort. ICADV staff developed materials based on membership input including a multiple page report and a one-page factsheet with graphics on the front and back. Key to these materials was a concise explanation of why additional funds are needed for what purpose, a quick reference for legislators so they would know how much is needed and how it will be used. Staff including Christina Spa (Communications Coordinator), Christine Raffaele (Director of Policy and Systems Advocacy), and Sarah Conlon (Chief Operations Officer) worked closely with membership in developing the materials.

After materials were developed, there was a call to action to all membership to take meetings with their legislators. Talking points were provided as meetings were happening and updated based on questions received from legislators. Members were provided with the information they needed for their requests during their meetings. A small group made up of members met on a regular basis providing updates from meetings and progress. Leadership in both houses of General Assembly was targeted along with membership of key appropriations committees in both houses. Christine Raffaele kept detailed records of who talked to which General Assembly member and the outcome of that meeting and followed up with members on their outreach. During one of the appropriations hearings, the Chair mentioned that “calls are received, and you are being heard” during ICADV’s testimony.

Membership coming together, mobilizing their community partners and friends, and relentlessly communicating with their legislators is what made the difference. Membership deserves much gratitude for all the hard work to make this happen! This could not have happened without the support in both houses of the General Assembly and much gratitude to those legislators who supported our efforts! This could be a model for future legislative efforts putting our mission into action. Congratulations to all!

Mid Central Community Action, Inc. (MCCA), the domestic violence program in Bloomington, Illinois, has a rich history of women taking action against the violence in their community. Carol Reitan, Normal’s first female mayor, was a spearhead for developing the domestic violence program in Bloomington. Reitan became the Executive Director/CEO of MCCA, serving from 1981-1985. During this time, the agency took over the local Countering Domestic Violence Program, which was a massive steppingstone in addressing domestic violence in Central Illinois. In 1987, the program was able to establish shelter services and expand on the assistance they could offer survivors. Their shelter is known as Neville House. In 1993, they began a collaboration with the State's Attorney's office and the agency's court advocates.

The COVID-19 Pandemic has deeply affected domestic violence programs throughout Illinois, and we have all been required to adjust our services to keep survivors and staff safe. MCCA is a great example of a program that has continuously moved forward and provided effective services to survivors despite the challenges and complications they have experienced. We spoke with Michell Cervantes, the Countering Domestic Violence Program Director at MCCA, about the challenges and successes they have experienced throughout the last two years.

Thanks to the collaboration of Representative Maurice West II, Senator Celina Villanueva, and several advocacy groups and supporters, Illinois has joined 45 other states and many countries in implementing a process to study deaths resulting from domestic violence. The Domestic Violence Fatality Review Act (Public Act 102-0520) was signed into law last August and creates a process to establish domestic violence fatality review (DVFR) teams across the State.

Generally, fatality review is the use of a multi-disciplinary team to study events, records, and systems that may be relevant leading up to a person’s death. Fatality review teams commonly exist to study areas like child, elderly, hospital, aviation and more recently, fatalities related to the opioid epidemic. The goal is to look at system vulnerabilities that lead to adverse outcomes for survivors, victims, and their families, provide recommendations, and implement changes.

As noted in the legislation, domestic violence-related homicides occurred across at least 26 counties between July 2019 and June 2020, though domestic violence incidents are often under reported and the full scope is not well-known. It is well-known, however, that domestic violence is experienced and responded to differently in historically marginalized communities where there are many barriers to accessing interventions.