The Shriver Center on Poverty Law has long advocated for policies aimed at economic and racial justice in Illinois. 

But amid a pandemic and a renewed national focus on police brutality, some say the center’s work is more critical than ever in addressing the needs of individuals and policy reforms. 

Poverty and racism are “inextricably intertwined,” said Audra Wilson, the newly appointed president and CEO of the Chicago-based nonprofit. “The COVID crisis, quite frankly, underscores that link and the things that many communities experience daily.

“So as an organization, we immediately mobilized to understand how the pandemic would affect communities in poverty. We sent recommendations to Governor Pritzker, Mayor Lightfoot, members of Congress and the Illinois legislature across issues.”