Jaylin McClinton Looking to Make His Hometown 5th District a Number One Focus
Jaylin McClinton Looking to Make His Hometown 5th District a Number One Focus (Chicago, IL) – From an early age, Jaylin McClinton’s family always instilled education as a gateway. It was something his grandmother prioritized having been raised in Mississippi, and moving her family to Chicago for a better life. He also prioritized his passion for justice, service and politics.
“Public service is something that I’ve thought about for quite some time. This isn’t just something that I woke up and decided. I’ve lived in Roseland for 28 years of my life with the exception of college and my short stint in Washington, DC.,” said McClinton, a 5th District Cook County Board candidate. “I think it’s just time for new ways of thinking and new perspectives.”
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McClinton, a life-long Chicagoan growing up in the Roseland neighborhood on the southside, is a current third year law student at Chicago-Kent College of Law. Presently, McClinton is a Candidate for Cook County Board, 5th District; Law Clerk at DiCello Levitt Gutzler LLC; and a Center for Conflict Resolution (CCR) Certified Mediator. Previously, he completed a semester-long assignment in his law school’s Mediation and Alternative Dispute Resolution Clinic; was a Justice Summer Associate at Loevy & Loevy, a Chicago-based national civil rights law firm and held dual appointments as an Illinois Supreme Court Rule 711 Law Clerk in the Criminal Defense Clinic at his law school.
Criminal reform and public safety remains a priority in his platform. He understands both sides of the legal system from working to defend clients who had their rights infringed on along with practicing consumer protection and plaintiff litigation. He believes he will bring that perspective to the Cook County Board. He is passionate about reforming the American civil and criminal legal systems, still resides in the Roseland neighborhood, and has dedicated his professional career to public service.
“As a black man, and as someone who’s actually been pulled over by the police and been subjected to humiliation by local law enforcement, I recognize that our system needs accountability,” said McClinton.”We also have to talk about the fact that the system hasn’t necessarily worked for people who look like us.”
McClinton wants safe neighborhoods but also sees an accountability piece. “But what I don’t want is a philosophy that punishes our way onto public safety. That’s not the solution. We’ve seen it time and time again for decades. When I’m thinking about our criminal legal system, and public safety, in particular, it’s time to really rethink and reimagine how we think about those two things. I want to focus on ethics and promoting good government and fighting back against corruption,” he added.
Health care is also a large focus in his candidacy.
“It is going to be a huge priority for me, not only because we’re still in a pandemic, but because this is a district with a lot of seniors,” said McClinton. “ I live with my grandparents and serve as a caregiver to one of them who has Alzheimer’s. There are ailments that plague our black seniors.”
Prior to law school, McClinton completed stints as district manager for then-Illinois State Representative Juliana Stratton, now Lieutenant Governor of Illinois, and as the Obama Foundation’s first-ever local Community Organizer responsible for bringing the Obama Presidential Center to Jackson Park. In these roles, he worked to establish a strong, grassroots local community network and ensured their voices were at the focal point of every major decision. McClinton is also a former student member of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees and served in the Obama-Biden Administration.
Jaylin McClinton Looking to Make His Hometown 5th District a Number One Focus
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