MEETINGS | The punishment fits the crime

On Monday, Nov. 24, at 6 p.m., join the Springfield Race Unity Committee at Lincoln Library for a public meeting on restorative justice, expungement of court and arrest records and mentoring. Sara Balgoyen, executive director of the Illinois Balanced and Restorative Justice Project, will be the featured speaker. Police officers, the sheriffs’ department, the mayor’s office, the state’s attorney office, District 186 officials, Springfield NAACP, Springfield Urban League, Springfield Housing Authority, Sangamon County Juvenile Detention Center officials, others working in the prison system as well as interested residents of Springfield are invited to attend this meeting. The Springfield Race Unity Committee has two goals: one, to implement restorative justice in Springfield schools and courts and two, to educate the community on the benefits of restorative justice for not just the individual, but the community as a whole.