2025 Annual Event Raises Funds, Awareness for Impact for Equity Projects | | |
Impact for Equity hosted its Annual Event, Persistence Through Change, at Bridgeport Arts Center last week to honor 2025 Champion of the Public Interest recipient Matthew J. Piers. Supporters, program partners, and civic activists came together to enjoy an evening of conversation and inspiration in the fight for equity amidst challenging times. The event also raised vital funds in support of Impact for Equity’s program work in affordable housing and criminal legal systems reform. Thank you to our sponsors, guests, and donors who contributed to the night’s success!
Click here to view the photo gallery.
| | Didn't get the chance to attend the event but still want to make an impact? Click here to give today! Your gift goes directly to the people and programs that make Imapct for Equity such an integral part of the fabric of Chicago. | | In Memoriam: Alexander Polikoff | | Longtime BPI Executive Director was 98 | | |
The legal and social justice community lost one of its greatest champions in May 2025 with the passing of Alexander Polikoff (1927-2025).
Alex served as Executive Director of Impact for Equity, then known as BPI (Business and Professional People for the Public Interest), from its earliest days in 1970 until he stepped down in 1999. Alex continued to serve as the organization’s Director of Housing until just a few years ago, when he retired to spend time with his family in New Hampshire. Despite the distance, Alex continued to serve as a mentor, advisor, and passionate advocate for the leadership of Impact for Equity to the very end.
| | | Housing: Illinois' Tax Sale Problem | | State of Illinois Continues Noncompliance with Tyler v. Hennepin County | | |
The tax sale process in Illinois routinely strips residents of their homeownership and home equity over small amounts of owed property taxes. This process disproportionately affects Black senior homeowners and remains non-compliant with the Supreme Court’s decision in Tyler v. Hennepin County.
In the current process, counties sell the right to collect unpaid tax debt to private investors and, if the homeowner does not pay back the debt within a limited amount of time, the investor can petition a court for the property deed. Tyler v. Hennepin County requires states to evaluate and reconsider their policies regarding tax sales to ensure that homeowners have the opportunity to obtain any surplus value and equity in their homes after property tax debt has been paid.
Illinois has yet to take action to come into compliance with this ruling, putting more residents, and especially seniors, at risk of losing their homes and home equity. A new investigation from Injustice Watch and the Investigative Project on Race and Equity shows the quiet stripping of homeownership and wealth from hundreds of Cook County residents – disproportionately affecting Black senior homeowners.
Impact for Equity continues to work in partnership with other organizations to change this system at the state level, ensuring that Illinois recognizes homeowners’ entitlement to the surplus equity in their home.
| | Criminal Legal System: Decarcerating Illinois | | Impact for Equity Takes on the Carceral System in Illinois | | |
In March 2024, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker announced a $900 million plan to demolish and rebuild two of the most costly and dilapidated prisons within the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC), Stateville and Logan Correctional Centers. The announcement met mixed responses. For advocates tracking the conditions of both facilities, the closures of Logan and the maximum-security campus of Stateville were long overdue.
The detrimental health impacts of living and working in these prison facilities, among others throughout Illinois, required an immediate response. However, the decision to rebuild prisons without a commitment to address outstanding systemic issues has raised serious concerns. Many of the punitive policies that fueled mass incarceration and contributed to an increase in these now unmanageable facilities remain unchanged in Illinois. As a result, average sentence lengths have increased dramatically, while opportunities for people to earn release have dwindled. Despite overwhelming evidence that these policies are costly, harmful, and inefficient methods to ensure lasting public safety, Illinois has failed to embrace evidence-based sentencing reforms.
In this moment, Illinois has a unique opportunity to reevaluate its prison system. Governor Pritzker’s monumental announcement to close two failing sites is a call to rethink our sentencing structure in a way that prioritizes compassion, fairness, individuality, rehabilitation, and safety. A new report from Impact for Equity, Pathways to a Future Beyond Mass Incarceration in Illinois, presents a pathway to that destination. First, we discuss how Illinois came to incarcerate so many people, leading to the mass incarceration we see today. We then examine the impact of the policies that fueled mass incarceration on Illinois and its prison system. Finally, we detail six legislative changes that could begin to address the harms of mass incarceration while prioritizing the health and safety of all Illinoisans. By committing to robust legislative change, Illinois can improve prison conditions while becoming a national leader in implementing data-informed solutions to end mass incarceration and build public safety.
| | Get to Know the Staff: Brendan Diamond | | Impact for Equity is in the midst of a generational change. Most of our staff members are new within the last few years, and many of them may be unfamiliar to our readers. We want you to get to know them! Starting this month, The Impact will feature one staff member profile in each issue. We hope to feature each of our staff members throughout the coming months! | | |
When Brendan Diamond (he/him), our new Senior Communications Manager, walked into his final interview, he knew Impact for Equity was a place he absolutely had to work.
"The causes Impact for Equity is involved in are righteous, important causes that now more than ever need to be publicized and rallied around," he said. "I talked with Interim Executive Director K. Sujata and Managing Director of Development and External Affairs Brice Kanzer, and I left thinking, This is exactly where I need to be right now."
Brendan comes to Impact for Equity after four years at Chicago Theological Seminary, a historically progressive and activist school of theology that has longtime ties to the United Church of Christ but now is a multifaith seminary, boasting multiple belief systems both in its teaching and its student body. "One thing I loved about CTS was that everyone was so dedicated to the causes of diversity, equity, and inclusion," he explained. "When I started looking for new jobs, I knew I wouldn't be happy unless I remained in that millieu."
| | |
Brendan is a native Chicagoan who grew up on the North Side but currently lives in the southernmost tip of the city. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in English and Spanish from DePaul University in Chicago and a Master's Degree in English from Aberystwyth University in Wales. He is married to Michelle Argento, a recruitment director for Year Up United; they have two children, Nora (10) and Desmond (1), and a black lab named Junie. In his spare time, Brendan enjoys playing fiddle with Kankakee-based jam/Americana rockers Beeso & Friends, reading, and attending as many concerts as his schedule and wallet will allow. He also is an avid fan of the band Phish, author Jo Walton, and anything related to Star Trek.
| | Your Gift Helps the Cause of Equity | | |
Impact for Equity is working hard every day to further the causes of fair housing, police accountability, and decarceration. We strive to create a more just, more equitable world in which everyone has the opportunity to come into themselves, regardless of racial, economic, or any other background. Please consider making a gift to further this vital advocacy in uncertain times.
Your gift is essential to the work we do. With your help, we can work to make our vision a reality. Join us!
| | | | |
