Our Organizing Philosophy

CTJC’s organizing work comes out of a decades-long movement for justice, freedom, and reparations for survivors of police torture lead by survivors of police torture, their loved ones, organizers, and artists. We understand that Black, brown, queer, disabled and poor people in the City of Chicago and beyond have always been targets of criminalization and police violence, and therefore must be at the center of our movements against them. We see ourselves as a part of a lineage and long-term struggle against racially motivated state violence and for the freedom of Black people and all people. We are fighting for a world in which all communities have what they need to thrive. 

Our organizing work focuses on: 

• Campaigns that get people free from incarceration, criminalization, and surveillance

• Building the movement leadership of system-impacted individuals and communities

• Directly supporting criminalized people in their freedom struggles

• Building the political consciousness of all people to end state violence and resource all communities 

Murder Registry Campaign

In 2022, the Chicago Torture Justice Center launched a campaign to abolish the Illinois Murder Registry. All survivors of police torture in Chicago who have not been exonerated were or are currently on the Illinois Murder Registry, and 60% of people on the registry are Black. In a number of cases, police torture survivors are made to register at the same police stations where they were tortured. Even after spending years in prison, individuals are targeted by the police when they come home because of this registry. 

We spent a year researching the registry, and in 2023, we published the Illinois Murder Registry Impact Report to explore its impact. We discovered that this registry is not only an issue of racial justice and just reentry, because it keeps predominantly Black people in cycles of perpetual punishment; it also does nothing to reduce recidivism or keep the public safe. The resources that go toward this registry could be used for actual violence prevention. 

In 2024, we created the Illinois Murder Registry Campaign Council, a group of people directly impacted by the Illinois Murder Registry who are leading our organizing efforts. We are now focused on building our campaign and a base of people who believe that repealing the Illinois Murder Registry is an issue of racial justice, just reentry, and true public safety. 

Get updates from the Campaign to End the IL Murder Registry

Anyone who wishes to support the campaign can be added to the mailing list!