Last week, Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities (TASC) announced Illinois State Senator Mattie Hunter (D-Chicago) and Walgreens executive Steve Pemberton are to receive leadership awards in December.

"TASC stood by me during my efforts to improve Illinois' criminal justice system and addiction treatment policies," said Hunter, a career advocate for civil justice.

"I am honored to be recognized alongside Steve Pemberton for the work we've done in our communities. Leadership involves both finding solutions through legislation and making businesses stewards of their communities."

Hunter and State Representative La Shawn K. Ford (D-Chicago) co-chaired the Illinois Racial and Ethnic Impact (REI) Research Task Force in 2011. They teamed with TASC to create a non-partisan group tasked with investigating drug policies that disproportionately placed Illinois minorities into the criminal justice system.

In 2009, Hunter co-chaired the Illinois Disproportionate Justice Impact Study (DJIS) Commission with State Representative Arthur L. Turner (D-Chicago) to examine the impact of state drug laws on racial and ethnic groups.

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