Illinois Prison Project's 5th Annual Gala

Join us for a celebration of hope and inspiration

The Illinois Prison Project invites you to join us for our 5th Annual Gala celebration on Friday, October 10 at the beautiful, historic Chicago Cultural Center located in Chicago's Loop directly across from Millennium Park. Each year, the IPP Gala brings together advocates, elected officials, legal experts, and community members working at the forefront of the movement to end mass incarceration in Illinois and beyond. Together, we’ll present Bill Ryan with this year's Melissa Matuzak Award, and Rep. Lisa Davis and Jimmy Soto with Visionary of the Year Awards. We are thrilled to honor these outstanding community leaders who have demonstrated their commitment to justice for those who have been needlessly incarcerated.

Details:

• Each ticket includes a plated dinner, dessert, drinks, and exclusive access to three iconic event spaces at the Cultural Center.
• Paid parking is available at Millennium Park and other lots nearby. We recommend booking via the SpotHero app.
• The Chicago Cultural Center is near several CTA and Metra stations, and is served by numerous bus lines (check out the “Plan Your Visit” page for further details).
• This event is ADA accessible, but please don’t hesitate to contact our Development Manager Shana East at [email protected] with any specific accessibility needs you may have.

Host Committee (in formation): Bill Ayers, Sheila Bedi, Jonathan Brayman, Bernardine Dohrn, Sarah Grady, Renaldo Hudson, Melissa Mitchell, Sharone Mitchell, Lauren Myerscough-Mueller, Manish Raiji, Veena Raiji, Reena Sikdar, Robin Waters and Sarah Weiss.

About IPP
In five years, IPP has freed 173 people from prison, successfully advocated for a new law in Illinois that allows for medical release and administrative policy changes that create more pathways for release from prison, and educated tens of thousands of community members about the harms of our racist and regressive criminal legal system. Through creative lawyering, innovative advocacy and a focus on the humanity of people harmed by the criminal legal system, IPP's work is transforming the way that Illinois treats incarcerated people.