Oversight Board

Latoya Hughes was appointed as the Acting Director of the Illinois Department of Corrections in April 2023. Ms. Hughes is a graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law and is an experienced trial attorney. Prior to serving at the Illinois Department of Corrections as the Acting Director, Ms. Hughes served as the Chief of Staff and Chief Inspector for the Department.

Prior to joining the Illinois Department of Corrections, Ms. Hughes served as an assistant state’s attorney in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office for 15 years. While serving in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, Ms. Hughes was the supervisor of the Community Justice Centers where she worked with law enforcement and other community stakeholders to solve public safety concerns and improve the quality of life for communities. Ms. Hughes’ entire 22- year legal career has been dedicated to the field of public service.

Dulce M. Quintero was appointed Secretary of the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) by Governor JB Pritzker in September 2023. Before that, they served as IDHS Assistant Secretary of Operations beginning in 2019, where they led the department’s COVID-19 response with a focus on equity, and oversaw areas such as human capital, information technology, budget, and finance.

Quintero is an award-winning and prominent community builder and innovator, having long served Illinoisans in both the health care and human services sectors, with a particular focus on LGBTQIA services and advocacy. They were inducted into the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame in 2017 and they continue be an out and proud LGBTQIA and nonbinary leader, activist, and passionate social change maker.

Before joining IDHS, Quintero served as Director of Operations for the Erie Humboldt Park Health Center, a community health center providing affordable and comprehensive medical services on Chicago’s Northwest side. There, they led day-to-day operations and implemented programs including a comprehensive HIV Care program, dental services, and a family practice medical residency. Under their leadership, the health center grew to serve over 9,400 patients annually.

Quintero also founded and operated the Casa Corazon Youth Drop-in Program at La Casa Norte, one of Chicago’s few safe spaces serving LGBTQIA youth on the city’s West Side. Quintero was born in Mexico to migrant farm workers and moved to Chicago at age nine.

Quintero’s community engagement has included their high-level involvement in the Chicago Dyke March and service as a founding board member of Orgullo en Acción where they helped organize the Chicago Latino Pride Picnic, the first event of its kind. They currently serve as a board member of the Association of Latinos Motivating Action.

Quintero holds a bachelor’s degree from University of California-Davis, and they have completed a non-profit leadership academy with The Center for Leadership. Quintero credits the integration of their identities as a Mexican immigrant, LGBTQIA activist, former street vendor, member of the community of people with disabilities, and non-profit leader as meaningfully informing their career at IDHS.

Delrice Adams is a social service and public health administrator with over 25 years’ experience in management of non-profits and local government agencies. Her areas of expertise include criminal justice, violence prevention and racial equity. Ms. Adams has a wealth of experience in grant administration, program development, community and stakeholder engagement, and policy and planning implementation. Ms. Adams has been appointed as the Executive Director of the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA), nominated by Governor J.B. Pritzker and confirmed by the Illinois Senate.

As Executive Director of ICJIA, she is responsible for the direction of the agency, determining agency priorities, and administering resources and programs needed to meet agency goals. She will also serve as liaison to the governor, General Assembly, ICJIA Board members, and state and national criminal justice officials and organizations. Prior to ICJIA, Ms. Adams served as Executive Director of the Cook County Justice Advisory Council (JAC), where she was responsible for overseeing the public safety agenda for Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. In that role, Ms. Adams was tasked with coordinating criminal and juvenile justice reform efforts in Cook County while preserving public safety and promoting fair and equitable access to justice. Ms. Adams also managed the counties grants for program services to address violence prevention, recidivism reduction and restorative justice.

Prior to Cook County, Ms. Adams worked for the City of Chicago Department of Public Health Office of Violence Prevention and Behavioral Health. As a Public Health Administrator, she oversaw the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) portfolio of Restorative Justice and Violence Prevention Initiatives for the office and coordinated multiple community partners and stakeholders as a committee lead for Healthy Chicago 2.0; the City’s 5-year Strategic Plan. Ms. Adams also served as a Local Office Administrator for the Illinois Department of Human Services, where she developed service delivery strategies and workforce programs to advance welfare reform efforts.

Ms. Adams is a 2019 Chicago United for Equity (CUE) fellow. She is a certified Trauma- Informed Trainer (CDPH, 2018). She is also a trained Circle Keeper. Ms. Adams received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of California at Berkeley and holds a master’s degree in Social Service Administration from the University of Chicago.

Joseph A. Cervantez was elected the State's Attorney of Jackson County, Illinois, in 2020. He began his legal career volunteering as a legal advocate with the SIU Domestic Violence Clinic and later with the Land of Lincoln in Carbondale, Illinois. After graduation he worked as an Assistant State’s Attorney with the Williamson County State’s Attorney’s Office. Later, he was asked to head the juvenile docket for the Saline County State’s Attorney’s Office. Immediately before becoming State’s Attorney, Joe was a partner at the Law Firm of Tetzlaff, Cervantez & Associates, P.C., a small general practice law firm where he focused on criminal defense.

Prior to law school State's Attorney Cervantez served as a Squad Leader, Platoon Sergeant, and Platoon Commander in the United States Marine Corps and Marine Corps Reserve. He deployed to the Al Anbar Province of Iraq in 2003, 2004 and 2007, 2008.

He is a graduate of Southern Illinois University and Southern Illinois University School of Law in Carbondale, Illinois.
State's Attorney Cervantez is admitted to practice in Illinois and the Southern District Court of Illinois and he holds memberships with the Illinois State Bar Association, Illinois State's Attorney's Association, American Bar Association, and the National District Attorney's Association.

James E. Chadd was appointed director of the Office of the State Appellate Defender in January 2018. Mr. Chadd received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and English Literature from the University of Oregon and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law. Mr. Chadd has spent his entire legal career with the Office of the State Appellate Defender, beginning as an Assistant Appellate Defender in Springfield in 1984. Mr. Chadd moved to the Chicago office in 1989, became a Supervisor in 2002, an Assistant Deputy in 2010, and the Deputy State Appellate Defender in 2014. In 2011, Mr. Chadd received the James B. Haddad Award, in recognition of a career marked by extraordinary legal work and dedication to representing indigent clients.

Emily Cole is the Supervisor of the Alternative Prosecution and Sentencing Unit for the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. She is responsible for supervising Assistant State’s Attorney’s countywide who handle cases in 19 problem solving courts that include drug, mental health and veteran’s courts, and 10 deferred prosecution courts, that include a restorative justice community court, diversion programs for first time offenders, prostitution offenses, nonviolent misdemeanor and low level drug offenses. She is actively engaged in the enhancement of the existing alternative prosecution programs as well as the development and implementation of new programs. She has practiced as an Assistant State’s Attorney since 1998 and was one of the first Cook County prosecutors to become involved in the alternative prosecution of cases. She regularly presents and trains attorneys and other stakeholders on alternative prosecution. She is a member of the Illinois, New York, and New Jersey bars and is the co-chair of the Leader Council at Mercy Home for Boys and Girls and an alumni board member of Culver Academies Summer Schools.

Victoria Gonzalez is the Executive Director of the Illinois Sentencing Policy Advisory Council (SPAC). She was appointed by SPAC in August 2023. Before that, she was the Executive Director of the Nevada Sentencing Commission for almost four years. Along with her experience working with sentencing commissions, her experience in criminal justice includes drafting criminal justice legislation for the Nevada Legislature, assisting incarcerated persons in reviewing the calculation of their sentences with the Appeals Project at the University of Wisconsin- Madison (UW-Madison), and working with district attorneys in the Prosecution Project at UW-Madison. She is committed to working with all criminal justice stakeholders and lawmakers to develop data-driven sentencing and corrections policies. Truly data-driven policies will promote a criminal justice system that is sustainable and fair.

Director Gonzalez has a Juris Doctorate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a Master's of Education from National University, and a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Utah.

Kent Holsopple is the Director of the Sangamon County Probation & Court Services Department in Springfield, Illinois. In his current position, Kent oversees a Court Services Department which consists of juvenile probation, adult probation, and a 16 bed juvenile detention center. He oversees the day-to-day administration and operation of the Department, which includes specialized programs such as the Sangamon County Drug Treatment Court, Mental Health Recovery Court, Veterans Court, Adult and Juvenile Redeploy, electronic/GPS monitoring, sex offenders, cognitive behavioral groups, drug testing and a Family Violence Coordinating Council.

Prior to his work with Sangamon County Probation and Court Services, Kent worked with many Illinois counties throughout a 24-year career with TASC. During his time with TASC he managed five offices and client services in forty eight counties across central Illinois. Building partnerships between the criminal justice system and the treatment delivery system, Kent served for several years on the Board for National TASC (Treatment Accountability for Safer Communities) working with TASC programs across the United States. Kent strives to work collaboratively as he recognizes the need to bring community resources together to meet the complex needs for many of those who are involved in the criminal justice system.

Nathalina A. Hudson is the Chief of Staff in the Office of the Attorney General. She was formerly Deputy Attorney General for the Criminal Enforcement Division where she oversaw eight criminal bureaus, the investigations division and the Violence Prevention and Crime Victim Services division in the Attorney General’s office. Prior to joining the Attorney General’s office, Nathalina served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Financial Crimes Division in the Northern District of Illinois. During her eleven years in the United States Attorney’s office, she investigated and tried a wide range of federal crimes including fraud, financial theft, official misconduct, public corruption, health care fraud, and international drug trafficking. She also served on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois’ James B. Moran Re-entry Court Team, which assists ex-offenders in their efforts to become productive members of the community. Prior to joining the United States Attorney’s Office, Nathalina served as an Assistant Corporation Counsel in the City of Chicago’s Police Policy division where she defended the city of Chicago in litigation alleging misconduct by members of the Chicago Police Department. Prior to joining the city’s law department, she was an associate in the commercial litigation group at Schiff Hardin LLP, where she handled complex contract disputes.

Prior to entering private practice, she clerked for the Honorable William Terrell Hodges, United States District Court of the Middle District of Florida from 2001 to 2002.

During the summer of 1997, she studied at St. Peter’s College, Oxford University. She received her undergraduate degree (B.A., Political Science, class honors, 1998) from the University of Michigan. She is a 1998 CLEO fellow and received her law degree (J.D., 2001) from Duke University School of Law, where she was Chair of the Black Law Students Association’s Alumni Committee, a volunteer with the Duke Death Penalty Clinic and a Staff Editor on the Duke Environmental Law and Policy Journal.

In May of 2004, she served as Chair of the Event Finance Committee for the Black Women Lawyers’ Association of Greater Chicago (“BWLA”) Brown v. Board of Education Symposium, “Reflections on the Past, Strategies for the Future” held on May 14, 2004. On May 14, 2004, she received the BWLA President’s award for exceptional service. She also served as Co-Chair of BWLA's Young Lawyers Committee for the 2004-2005 term. Nathalina also served as the President of the Black Women Lawyers' Association of Greater Chicago ("BWLA") in 2006-2007. In 2008, Nathalina was selected as 40 under 40 Illinois Attorneys to watch by the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin. In 2011, Nathalina chaired the Building Bridges Breaking Barriers Diversity Conference for the Chicago Bar Association. Nathalina served on the 2014/2015 Magistrate Judge Merit Review Panel for the Northern District of Illinois. In 2014, Nathalina was selected as an IMPACT fellow with the Chicago Urban League. Nathalina is also a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

Sharone Mitchell Jr. is the Cook County Public Defender.

In March 2021, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle nominated Mitchell to serve a 6-year term as Public Defender; he was confirmed by a unanimous vote of the Cook County Board and was sworn into Office on April 1, 2021.

Mitchell began his legal career in the Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender, first working as a clerk in law school and later as an assistant public defender with assignments in the Civil, First Municipal, and Felony Trial Divisions.

The Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender is one of the largest unified public defender offices in the nation with nearly 700 employees, a budget of approximately $80 million, and 23 divisions and units. The Office provides legal services for people who cannot afford to hire an attorney to represent them in misdemeanor, felony, traffic, domestic violence, juvenile delinquency, child protection, and similar cases and appeals.

In 2016, Mitchell joined the Illinois Justice Project (ILJP), a policy reform organization dedicated to supporting people, programs, and policies that can reduce inappropriate incarceration, improve community safety outcomes, reduce recidivism and increase justice in the legal system.

Mitchell became Director of ILJP in 2019 and solidified its reputation as one of the state's leading criminal justice reform non-profits.

During his tenure as Director, ILJP helped lead the Coalition to End Money Bond's successful effort to outlaw wealth-based pretrial incarceration in Illinois. ILJP also worked with the Building a Safe Chicago Coalition and others to convince state leaders to direct 25 percent of cannabis tax revenues towards treating the root causes of harm in objectively identified areas of the state through the R3 (Restore, Renew and Reinvest) grant program. An advocate of alternative approaches to public safety and helping men and women re-enter their communities, Mitchell has fought against proposals to make the Illinois sentencing system more barbaric and ineffective.

His dedication to systems change and reducing community harm was recognized with the Safer Foundation Visionary Award in 2020 and the Barbara Jordan Award for Excellence in Judicial Advocacy and Education from Judicial Accountability PAC in 2019.

Mitchell's volunteer service includes membership on the boards of three non-profit organizations, including the Associate's Board of Chicago Debates, which facilitates high school debate competitions in the Chicago area. In 2021, he was named Chicago Debates' Alum of the Year.

He also serves on the Board of St. Leonard's Ministries, an organization that provides comprehensive residential, case management, and employment services for those released from prison without resources, and the Board of Live Free Chicago, the local chapter of Live Free USA, a national faith-based organization created to organize people of color against mass incarceration and violence.

Mitchell has a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He also earned a law degree from DePaul University College of Law. A lifelong resident of Chicago, he grew up in the West Pullman neighborhood and is a Morgan Park High School graduate.

Judge Radcliffe has served on the Adult Redeploy Illinois Oversight Board since its inception. He also was a part-time Technical Advisor through 2019 assisting the ARI team monitor program implementation, develop training and technical assistance strategies, conduct outreach to interested counties, and advise on policies and procedures. Judge Radcliffe served for 20 years as an Associate Circuit Judge in St. Clair County and was the presiding judge of the Juvenile Court in St. Clair County from 1996 to 2007. He retired from the bench at the end of 2007. He also serves as a mediator and arbitrator through his company, Associated Dispute Resolution, based in Belleville, Illinois. Judge Radcliffe received his B.S. in psychology in 1972 from Loyola University and his JD (with distinction) in 1977 from John Marshall Law School, where he was a member of the Law Review.

Prior to being appointed to the bench in 1988, Judge Radcliffe served as an assistant public defender and was a member of the law firm of Sprague, Sprague & Ysursa in Belleville, IL. While on the bench, Judge Radcliffe tried hundreds of jury trials including capital cases and complex civil litigation. He is the former chair of the General Practice Section Council of the Illinois State Bar Association. He served as associate director of the Illinois Lawyers' Assistance Program (LAP) from 2008 to 2017, and served several years on LAP's Board of Directors prior to that. He also served on the Board of Governors of the Illinois Appellate Defender's Office and the Illinois State Bar Association Assembly. In addition to the Adult Redeploy Illinois Oversight Board, he currently is a member of the Juvenile Justice Initiative Board, and the Department of Children and Family Services Citizens Task Force.

Parle Roe-Taylor has been an attorney with the Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender since 1990. Parle has tried cases in the Felony, Misdemeanor and Juvenile courts while with the Office, defending countless clients in bench and jury trials, on charges ranging in seriousness from First Degree Murder to Battery. She has been in management since 2004, overseeing the daily activities of attorneys representing felony and misdemeanor clients in the Third, Fourth and First Municipal Districts. She is currently the Deputy Public Defender of Municipal Operations and Trial Support, with a staff of over 100 attorneys and managers. She was previously the Chief of the First Municipal Division with just over 50 attorneys, who staffed 23 courtrooms throughout Chicago. Parle is a member of the Public Defender’s Executive Team to develop polices, strategies and the promotion of the mission of the Office. She is a regular on hiring panels for attorneys and promotions committees. She has worked collaboratively with other departments and agencies on behalf of the Office with the MacArthur Safety and Justice Challenge to safely reduce the jail population. She assisted in the implementation of Police Station Representation and its training in the Office, to ensure arrestees have access to representation immediately upon arrest

Floyd Stafford is a Program Officer at the Steans Family Foundation with a violence prevention portfolio. Prior to joining the Steans Family Foundation, Mr. Stafford was Senior Project Manager of National Initiatives on Poverty and Economic Opportunity at Heartland Alliance. Mr. Stafford initially joined Heartland Alliance in August 2017 as Community Project Manager for READI Chicago. In this role, he managed day-to-day operations and participant outreach within the North Lawndale. For more than 10 years, Mr. Stafford has been involved in programs and initiatives that support those who have been impacted by the criminal justice system. Most recently, he served as the Legislative Coordinator for the Cook County Justice Advisory Council (JAC), where he worked to preserve public safety, reduce recidivism, and promote fair and equitable access at the Cook County Jail and Juvenile Temporary Detention Center. As a legislative coordinator, Mr. Stafford also was responsible for the JAC’s legislative agenda and coalition building efforts.

Mr. Stafford is the co-founder of The Alumni Association, a peer support network for the formerly incarcerated. He is also a former leader of the Community Renewal Society’s FORCE (Fighting to Overcome Records and Create Equality) program, a coalition that advocates for increased opportunities for the formerly incarcerated.

Mr. Stafford has a master’s degree in social work, and health administration and policy from the University of Chicago.

Kathy Starkovich has been a member of the Adult Redeploy Illinois Oversight Board since 2017 and serves on the Site Selection and Monitoring and Performance Measurement Committees. She is a Deputy Director at the DuPage County Department of Probation and Court Services and the coordinator of DuPage County’s Adult Redeploy program, where she has led the team since 2013.

Kathy has worked within her department for twenty-three years and is passionate about taking a strength-based approach with clients. She believes in the intrinsic value each person possesses, and that nobody loses the ability to make change. She is an advocate for integrating evidence-based strategies in programming in a simple, pragmatic manner and that work of probation is challenging, but is always worthwhile.

Kathy provides extensive training on a variety of curricula focused primarily on effective behavior management strategies and cognitive-behavioral interventions and has served as an adjunct faculty member at a local college.

Judge Thomas R. Sumner retired from the bench in 2007 after serving nearly 20 years as a trial judge for the Circuit Court of Cook County Illinois, the last 12 years in the Criminal Division in Chicago. From 2010 to 2019, Judge Sumner served as a Technical Assistance Provider for Adult Redeploy Illinois (ARI), working closely with local ARI teams on program implementation, conducting outreach to interested counties, and assisting ARI staff on the development of policies and procedures.

During his judicial career, Judge Sumner was a faculty member of the Capital Cases Seminar Series committee and a member of the Illinois Pattern Jury Instructions committee. He also served as a volunteer instructor and judge for law school trial advocacy and moot court competitions at John Marshall, Loyola and the University of Chicago law schools. Prior to going on the bench, he was managing partner of a small boutique law firm, Sumner and Smith, which focused on real estate and public finance transactions. He was also a trial attorney in the Cook County Public Defender’s Office for five years prior to private practice. Judge Sumner is a past President of the Cook County Bar Association and a past member of the Board of Managers of the Chicago Bar Association.

From April 2010 through February 2012, he served as the first Program Coordinator of the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism where he assisted to develop and coordinate programs across Illinois designed to increase the professionalism, wellbeing, and inclusiveness of the Illinois bench and bar. Judge Sumner is a 1977 graduate of the John Marshall Law School and a 1974 graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Alyssa Williams was appointed Acting Assistant Director in July 2022. Her experience with the Illinois Department of Corrections began in 2001 and includes the following positions: Sex Offender Therapist in the East St. Louis Parole Office with adult parolees, Casework Supervisor at Illinois Youth Center Warrenville, Clinical Services Supervisor at Illinois Youth Center Warrenville, Warden at Dwight Correctional Center, Coordinator for Sex Offender Services, Assistant to the Chief of Programs, and Chief of Programs and Support Services. Prior to her work in Illinois, Ms. Williams was employed as a Forensic Therapist at Western State Hospital in Steilacoom, Washington.

Ms. Williams will be responsible for oversight of facility Operations, Programs, Office of Health Services, the Parole Division and Office of Operations Excellence.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Bradley University and a master’s degree in Psychology from Chapman University.