Children and Families

Karina’s Law—Protecting D.V. Survivors from Gun Violence 

On July 23, 2003, Karina Gonzalez and her 15-year-old daughter were fatally shot in their Chicago home by Karina’s husband despite the fact that she had an order of protection against him. Her son Manny Gonzalez, who was 18 at the time, survived the shooting. 

Karina’s Law, named in honor of Ms. Gonzalez, is the result of a years-long collaboration among us, The Network: Advocating Against Domestic Violence, and gun safety advocates. It authorizes courts to order the immediate surrender of firearms to law enforcement during the service of an emergency order of protection. It also grants law enforcement the authority to execute search warrants for firearms. 

Senator Celina Villanueva and Representative Maura Hirschauer sponsored the legislation, which Governor Pritzker signed into law on February 10, 2025. Manny Gonzalez publicly supported this legislation, and his support was critical to its passage.  

 

Public Act 104-0297—Providing Survivors with Relief from “Coerced Debt” 

Together with The Network: Advocating Against Domestic Violence, we drafted legislation that relieves survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking from liability for debt incurred through fraud, duress, intimidation, threats, force, coercion, undue influence, or the nonconsensual use of personal identifying information by a family or household member or trafficker.  

The legislation—sponsored by Representative Kelly Cassidy and Senator Kimberly Lightford, and signed into law in 2025—creates procedures that allow survivors to notify collection agencies that a debt was coerced, requires collectors to suspend collection activity while claims are investigated, permits survivors to raise coerced debt as a defense in collection actions, and helps survivors rebuild their financial independence. 

 

Persuading CPS to Cancel Telehealth Contract 

Hazel Health, a privately held startup, provided free mental telehealth services to CPS high school students. The company’s website, however, did not adequately protect the students’ sensitive and personally identifiable information, and it allowed tracking by major corporations. Furthermore, students could not receive the mental health services unless their parents signed authorization forms that allowed the children’s data to be used for commercial purposes. 

Together with Illinois Families for Public Schools, we highlighted these problems and advocated for a careful review of the contract, which CPS ultimately declined to renew, thanks in part to advocacy by Chicago Board of Education member Anusha Thotakura. This decision reflected a welcome shift toward reevaluating the process for delivering student health services and ensuring compliance with district standards for privacy, consent, and accountability. 

 

Persuading Mayor to Veto “Snap Curfew” Ordinance 

In 2025, the Chicago City Council considered a controversial ordinance that would have authorized the police superintendent to declare localized curfews for teenagers with just 30 minutes’ advance notice. (Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling himself criticized the 30-minute notice provision, stating that it was “not something that I asked for or that I need.”)   

Together with the ACLU of Illinois and the Cook County Public Defender’s Office, we advocated against the proposed ordinance, noting that it violated due process, would have a disproportionate impact on low-income minority families, and would invite unnecessary civil lawsuits against the City. As a result of our coalition’s advocacy and strong public opposition, Mayor Brandon Johnson vetoed the measure—the first mayoral veto of a major youth policing ordinance in nearly two decades. 

Implementation of Karina’s Law 

Successfully advocating for the passage of this landmark legislation was just the first step. Now we have to make sure it is implemented effectively. To that end, we are again collaborating with The Network: Advocating Against Domestic Violence. We are also working with our partner organization, Legal Aid Chicago, to monitor the execution of warrants once they have been issued

 

Helping Survivors of Domestic Violence Retain Custody of Their Children  

HB 3365 of the 104th Assembly, which we supported, was designed to ensure that survivors of domestic violence would not lose custody of their children merely because their children had witnessed the violence. The legislation passed the House but stalled in the Senate. Together with Ascend Justice and a coalition of advocates, we are now working on the best strategy for securing the necessary protection for survivors, and for giving courts guidance on how to address these situations and ensure that children are not removed from survivors who pose no threat to their children’s health or safety.