Free. Live-streamed on Facebook and via Zoom webinar.

Join us as we take a look at the history and consequences of well-intentioned legislation and the human and community impact of sex offense registries. Since 1996, all 50 U.S. states and Washington D.C. require people who have been convicted of sex offenses to be placed on a registry. Over the last 25 years, as laws expanded, the number of people on these registries grew exponentially. Many states are keeping people on registries longer than ever before, sometimes for life, and it has become increasingly difficult to be removed from them. At the same time, a growing amount of research shows that sex offense registries have not met the goals they originally set out to achieve.

Terrance Chism is a father of two, a gospel musician, a professional drummer, a community volunteer, and the President of the Chicago 400 Alliance, the grassroots legislative campaign to support the Chicago 400. Terrance runs leadership meetings and presents to organizational partners, such as victim advocates, fair housing advocates, reentry service providers, police accountability activists, and lawmakers. Chicago 400 Alliance members are always delighted when he drums for them on Zoom meetings.

Steven Diggs is a father, grandfather, a recovering addict, and a Recovery Support Specialist at Above and Beyond Recovery Center in Chicago, where he serves as a mentor, a teacher, and the facilitator for WRAP (Wellness Recovery Action Plan). Steven is the sergeant-at-arms of the Chicago 400 Alliance, and his valuable skills are essential to this campaign centered on compassion and accountability. Steven is an advocate for the people and encourages all of us to leverage our combined power to help one another.

David L. Garlock is a successful returning citizen, reentry professional, and criminal justice reform advocate.  David and his brother received 25-year sentences in Alabama after taking the life of their abuser.  A client of Equal Justice Initiative, he was released on parole in 2013 after serving more than 13 years and pursuing several educational opportunities while incarcerated.  He subsequently obtained his bachelor's degree from Eastern University and is the PA State Organizer for Straight Ahead Org, a new grassroots organization that is working to abolish Life Without Parole sentences. He is also on the Board of Directors of the National Association for Rational Sex Offense Laws, working to abolish the sex offense registry.

Emily Horowitz is a professor of Sociology & Criminal Justice at St. Francis College in Brooklyn, New York. She is the author of a number of articles about the harms of sex offense registries, including the book Protecting Our Kids? How Sex Offender Laws Are Failing Us. At St. Francis College she co-directs a program that helps those with criminal justice involvement earn college degrees and she is currently conducting research on the experiences of veterans who have been convicted of sex offenses.

Laurie Jo Reynolds is an artist and policy advocate who has spent two decades challenging the demonization, warehousing, and social exclusion of people in the criminal legal system. She was the organizer of Tamms Year Ten, the grassroots campaign to close the notorious Illinois state supermax prison, shuttered by Governor Pat Quinn in 2013. Reynolds currently collaborates on a research and organizing project with Chicagoans who have been made homeless by statewide housing banishment laws. She is an Associate Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the coordinator of the Chicago 400 Alliance. (See chicago400.net)

Willie Trent is an activist on the registry working toward restorative justice and reform of Sex Offender Registration Act laws. He is a member of the Education from the Inside Out Coalition (EIOC), the Prison Re-entry Program and is presently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in criminology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

This event is part of Eastern State's ongoing Searchlight Series of events addressing issues in contemporary corrections. The Searchlight Series discussions take place the first Tuesday of every month, free and open to the public. No reservations required. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, this discussion will place virtually.