Chicago

Illinois Peace Project is proud to announce the honorees for its 2026 Peace Portraits series, a visual project dedicated to spotlighting the extraordinary individuals working every day to build safer, stronger, and more peaceful communities. 

It was a packed house at the North Lawndale Collaborative‘s (NLC) quarterly community meeting, as residents, Community Violence Intervention (CVI) professionals, and elected officials gathered to hear insights on the work being done on the ground to combat violence in the area.

Metropolitan Peace Initiatives (MPI), alongside other Community Violence Intervention (CVI) organizations, public officials, and advocates, convened to provide Chicago with a public safety update and mark the city’s historic decline in gun violence last year.

The City of Chicago recently launched its first-ever women’s Community Re-entry Support Center (CRSC) in partnership with the Women’s Justice Institute, in addition to awarding five community organizations serving residents returning from incarceration.

Chicago is set to close out the year with historic declines in violent crime, as detailed in a new report from Crain’s Chicago Business. City leaders, law enforcement officials, and Community Violence Intervention (CVI) experts acknowledge that their combined efforts have helped make 2025 one of the city’s safest years in decades.

New Life Centers (NLC) CEO Matt DeMateo was recently honored with the 2025 Inspire Change Changemaker Award from the Chicago Bears for his impactful social justice work in Chicago. The award comes at a joyous time as NLC celebrates 20 years of service.

Chicago remains on track to record its lowest number of shootings since 1965, but after a year of facing threats to sustainable funding, leaders in the field of Community Violence Intervention (CVI) continue to explore new, innovative ways to save even more lives.

A group of more than 30 business, civic, faith, and nonprofit leaders from across Chicago recently came together to denounce the federal immigration operation that has played out in recent months across the city and surrounding suburbs.

In the wake of the Trump administration’s decision to cancel public safety grants, several Community Violence Intervention (CVI) leaders from across Chicago and the state testified before the Illinois General Assembly, calling for sustained funding as they continue in the fight to reduce gun violence.

Calling all peacebuilders and changemakers: The application window for the 2026 Peace Portraits is now open.