Justin Quincy Slaughter (born April 24, 1980) is an American politician and retired college basketball player. Slaughter has served as a Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives from the 27th district, which consists of portions of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and neighboring communities. As a legislator, Slaughter has advocated for

criminal justice reform Criminal justice reform addresses structural issues in criminal justice systems such as racial profiling, police brutality, overcriminalization, mass incarceration, and recidivism. Criminal justice reform can take place at any point where the cr ...

, and was a chief sponsor of the

SAFE-T Act The Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today Act, commonly known as the SAFE-T Act, is a state of Illinois statute enacted in 2021 that makes a number of reforms to the criminal justice system, affecting policing, pretrial detention and ...

Early life and education

Slaughter was raised in Washington Heights in Chicago's South Side. He attended the

University of Chicago Laboratory Schools The University of Chicago Laboratory Schools (also known as Lab or Lab Schools and abbreviated as UCLS though the high school is nicknamed U-High) is a private, co-educational day Pre-K and K-12 school in Chicago, Illinois. It is affiliated with ...

, a college preparatory school. Slaughter went on to attend the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

, where he played college basketball as a guard on the

Maroons Maroons are descendants of Africans in the Americas who escaped from slavery and formed their own settlements. They often mixed with indigenous peoples, eventually evolving into separate creole cultures such as the Garifuna and the Mascogos. ...

from 1998 to 2002. Slaughter graduated with a degree in political science in 2002 and would later receive a master's degree in public policy and administration from

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

Career

Prior to holding elected office, Slaughter served as director of programs at the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice. He was also an aide to

Kwame Raoul Kwame Raoul (, born September 30, 1964) is an American lawyer and politician who has been the 42nd Attorney General of Illinois since 2019. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Raoul represented the 13th district in the Illinois Senate from ...

during his time in the state senate.

Illinois House of Representatives

On January 3, 2017, Monique D. Davis announced she would decline to serve in the 100th General Assembly to which she was elected from the 27th district in the November 2016 general election. On January 5, 2017, the Democratic Representative Committee of the 27th Representative District appointed Justin Slaughter to fill the vacancy created by Davis's resignation. The 27th district, under the 2011-2021 apportionment, covered the

Chicago neighborhoods There are sometimes said to be more than 200 neighborhoods in Chicago, though residents differ on their names and boundaries. A city ordinance prescribing and mapping 178 neighborhoods is almost unknown and ignored even by munic ...

of Washington Heights, Auburn Gresham, Beverly, Chatham, Morgan Park, Roseland, and West Pullman, as well as the cities of Alsip,

Blue Island Blue Island is a city in Cook County, Illinois, located approximately south of Chicago's Loop. Blue Island is adjacent to the city of Chicago and shares its northern boundary with that city's Morgan Park neighborhood. The population was 22,558 ...

, Crestwood, Midlothian,

Orland Park Orland Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, with a small portion in Will County. The village is a suburb of Chicago. Per the 2020 census, Orland Park had a population of 58,703. Located 25 miles (40 km) southwest of Chicago ...

, Palos Heights, Robbins, and Worth.

Tenure

In office, Slaughter has been a supporter of

reforms. In his first year in office, Slaughter sponsored ultimately successful legislation that provided inmates with "training to develop skills for computers, public speaking and general business." Slaughter was one of the lead sponsors of the

(Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today Act), which became state law in 2021. The legislation creates new standards for decertifying police officers who engage in misconduct, and limits the use of

cash bail Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Bail is the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when required. In some countrie ...

for nonviolent offenders.

Committee membership

As of July 3, 2022, Representative Slaughter is a member of the following Illinois House committees: * Appropriations - Higher Education Committee (HAPI) * (Chairman of) Criminal Administration and Enforcement Subcommittee (HJUC-CAES) * (Chairman of) Firearms and Firearm Safety Subcommittee (HJUC-FIRE) * International Trade & Commerce Committee (HITC) * (Chairman of) Judiciary - Criminal Committee (HJUC) * (Chairman of) Juvenile Justice and System-Involved Youth Subcommittee (HJUC-JJSI) * Operations Subcommittee (HSGA-OEPR) * Procurement Subcommittee (HSGA-PROC) * Public Utilities Committee (HPUB) * (Chairman of) Sentencing, Penalties and Criminal Procedure Subcommittee (HJUC-SPCP) * (Chairman of) Sex Offenses and Sex Offender Registration Subcommittee (HJUC-SOSO) * State Government Administration (HSGA) * Water Subcommittee (HPUB-WATR)

Electoral history

Personal life

Slaughter lives with his wife and children in Brainerd Park, Chicago.

References

External links

Profile
at Illinois General Assembly {{DEFAULTSORT:Slaughter, Justin 1980 births 21st-century American politicians Democratic Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives Living people