Live Free Chicago Dba Live Free Illinois

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
815487128
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Phone
4092029294
Rating
89
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,206,906
Expenses
$2,251,678
Assets
$1,827,771
Liabilities
$157,225

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • REV BILL ELLIS (President)
  • TENY GROSS (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • CIERA BATES CHAMBERLAIN (Executive Dir.): $119,954 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Live free Illinois is a statewide organization partnering with over 120 congregations and directly impacted individuals to build safer, more quitable communities across Illinois. Operating at the intersection of criminal justice reform abd public safety, the organization drives systemic change to reduce violence, improve police accountability, and invest in community-led solutions.

What it reported doing in 2024

Community Healing Resource Centers (CHRC) Program (JulyDecember 2024): From July through December 2024, the CHRC Program delivered substantial community impact, holding 246 community outreach events that reached 6,653 people and 210 community healing events that engaged an additional 4,703 participants. The program completed 363 case-management intakes and 329 mental-health referrals. During this period, the program also underwent key infrastructure and leadership transitions, including onboarding a new CHRC Director, hosting an in-person CHRC retreat for staff and Executive Directors, and redesigning the mental health access process by introducing a dedicated mental health service coordinator and hiring a Mental Health CHRC Network Coordinator. The South Suburbs CHRC site was successfully transitioned to Victory Church in Park Forest, IL, and the team co-planned and participated in the Gather of Communities annual event at UIC. All CHRC Executive Directors and site staff completed the 3-Day Organizing Training, and the program maintained consistent service despite fiscal uncertainty and payment delays from the funder. Live Free Illinois finalized outstanding FY2024 funder issues and secured ICJIA contract renewals for all CHRC sites for FY2025.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 91
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 35
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 93.7%; rating input score 94
  • Program expense ratio: 91.8%; rating input score 92
  • Fundraising efficiency: $40.31 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -2%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.81; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.09; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.3%; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 46.9% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 38% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 38.6% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 93.7% of revenue deployed · 91.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $2.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $120K · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2019 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 27/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 30/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 51/100.