[remote] MISSING AND MURDERED CHICAGO WOMEN TASK FORCE: July 14, 2025

Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority
Criminal Justice

Monday, July 14, 2025
12:00 p.m. — 1:30 p.m. CDT

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Reporting

Edited and summarized by the Chicago - IL Documenters Team

Live reporting by Jana Simovic

Discussion re: improvements in law enforcement as well as civilian education when it comes to reporting missing persons cases, particularly those that involve women and young girls.

Jana Simović
Jana Simović @janasimoviic 2/20
Here is the agenda for today's (July 14) meeting: You can also find the link to attend the meeting here. s3.documentcloud.org/documents/2599…
s3.documentcloud.org/documents/2599…
Jana Simović @janasimoviic 3/20
At the following link you can find background information about the The Task Force on Missing and Murdered Chicago Women Act: icjia.illinois.gov/researchhub/ar…
icjia.illinois.gov/researchhub/ar…
Jana Simović @janasimoviic 4/20
Meeting begins at 12:05 and quorum is present.
Jana Simović @janasimoviic 5/20
Meeting minutes from last month (June 9) are approved at 12:10 pm.
Jana Simović @janasimoviic 6/20
Mandy Sark with Chicago Missing Persons Guild discusses the Report Writing Subcommittee. Sark reiterates that it is important that as many people as possible submit feedback and data in order for the study to adequately analyze the connections between poverty and violence.
Jana Simović @janasimoviic 7/20
Jennifer Greene from legal services organization Life Span presents past recommendations in preparation for this years annual report. The attached image is a slide of the Illinois Domestic Violence Fatality Initiative.
Jana Simović @janasimoviic 8/20
A few takeaways from the Review are that there need to be better fatality and near fatality preventions plans in place, the state of IL needs to examine how women who murder their abusers are treated within the judicial system and how mental health is addressed.
Jana Simović @janasimoviic 9/20
Greene mentions that children are also often hidden victims of domestic abuse, citing a CBS Chicago news piece that came out yesterday. Here is the link: cbsnews.com/chicago/video/…
cbsnews.com/chicago/video/…
Jana Simović @janasimoviic 10/20
Dr. Adrienne Adams brings up the issue of updating amber alert policies particularly among local law enforcement agencies.
Jana Simović @janasimoviic 11/20
At 12:30 a discussion regarding improvements in law enforcement as well as civilian education when it comes to reporting missing persons cases, particularly those that involve women and young girls. Sark states that waiting periods need to be addressed no matter the situation.
Jana Simović @janasimoviic 12/20
Diane Welsh from the Circuit Court of Cook County talks about defense cases that involve children and victims of domestic violence.
Jana Simović @janasimoviic 13/20
Senator Mattie Hunter talks about the importance of recommendations for funding for both government and nonprofit agencies.
Jana Simović @janasimoviic 14/20
February and April meeting notes are presented (no mtng in March). Emphasis on the intersections of racism, domestic violence, financial instability, community violence,. systems need to be addressed for the disproportionate number of missing and murdered Black women and girls.
Jana Simović @janasimoviic 15/20
Here are the key takeaways and recommendation discussion factors from the April meeting:
Jana Simović @janasimoviic 16/20
May meeting notes and recommendations are moved to be discussed at the next meeting (August 10) and Senator Hunter calls for public comment at 1:28 pm.
Jana Simović @janasimoviic 17/20
Jordan A. Scherer is the first public commenter and is a private detective. Mentions that missing persons video evidence is not analyzed and utilized as it should be. Scherer discusses racial discrepancies of missing persons that are found, saying that it must be addressed.
Jana Simović @janasimoviic 18/20
At 1:34 pm a motion to adjourn the meeting passes and meeting ends.
Jana Simović @janasimoviic 19/20
The meeting is now over - the next scheduled meeting is next month on August 12 at 1:30 pm.
Jana Simović @janasimoviic 20/20
Thank you all for following along at this meeting — I’ll see you at the next one!
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Note-taking by Jinny Kim

The task force met to review past presentations (from Dec. 2024 to present) and discuss recommendations, whether that be for future legislation, wording, or decision making.

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Agency Information

Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority

icjia.illinois.gov

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The Authority develops, evaluates and coordinates programs for the improvement of law enforcement and the administration of criminal justice; administers private, state and federal grant programs related to all phases of the administration of criminal justice; engages in research and acts as a repository and clearinghouse for federal, state and local research studies in all phases of the criminal justice system; and develops, operates and coordinates criminal justice information systems to promote the availability, completeness and accuracy of criminal history record information with due regard for federal and state privacy policy.

For more information about Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority meetings, visit https://icjia.illinois.gov/news/meetings/.

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