How Illinois’ first lady and Willette Benford are giving second chances to women leaving prison

An unlikely friendship is helping to give second chances to those leaving prison.

Willette Benford, 60, spent almost half her life in prison. Now, she’s a senior advisor to the first lady of Illinois, M.K. Pritzker. Together, they’re focused on addressing barriers women face in exiting the criminal justice system.

In 1995, Benford was sentenced to 50 years in prison for first-degree murder. She says she was in a volatile same-sex relationship, and the crime occurred one night when she tried to flee.

“I ran and jumped in my car. She jumped on the hood of the car, and I pulled off,” Benford said, adding it was dark and she didn’t know the area. “I turned around and came back up the street, and that’s when they said I hit her.”

Benford told CBS News, and court documents reveal, that her attorney advised her against presenting evidence of the domestic violence, fearing it could prejudice the jury.

“None of the domestic violence, the times I had her arrested, or the times I went to the hospital — none of that was talked about in court,” Benford explained.

Then, in 2016, an amendment to an Illinois law added domestic violence as a mitigating factor in sentencing and Benford became eligible for resentencing.

“I got credit for time served and I was released on Feb. 6, 2019,” she said after spending 24 years in prison.

Benford’s second chance

Upon her release, Benford entered a residential program in Chicago that supported women exiting the prison system — the Grace House run by the nonprofit Saint Leonard’s Leonard’s Ministries. 

The supportive services and interim housing were critical to Benford.

“I spent a quarter of a century in prison, and I had a network of people supporting me,” Benford said. 

Benford dropped out of high school in ninth grade. 

Thirty days after she was incarcerated, she passed her GED equivalency. She went on to obtain an associate’s degree and multiple certificates, mentored and tutored other women and became an ordained minister.

Benford met Chicago alderman, Walter Burnett Jr., in prison and volunteered in his office after she was released. Within a month, they offered her a job as a legislative assistant.

“I am what it looks like to give someone a fair chance, not a handout but a hand up,” Benford said.  

In 2022, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot wanted to brand the city a place for second chances. She tapped Benford as the city’s first director of reentry for people leaving prison and reentering society. In the role, Benford helped to reform background checks for 2,500 city jobs so that some convictions would not disqualify candidates from getting employment.

Work with Illinois first lady 

After her husband was inaugurated as the 43rd governor of Illinois in 2019, M.K. Pritzker’s first official visit as the first lady of Illinois was to Logan Correctional Center in Lincoln.

“They said they couldn’t get a state I.D. when they got out and that it was darn near impossible,” Pritzker said. “They don’t have a birth certificate. They don’t have social security cards. You can’t open a bank account, you can’t do anything [without an ID].”

Pritzker left the women’s prison wanting to fix the issue for both women and men exiting the prison system.

“I went home and said, ‘J.B., can you believe this? We have to fix it,'” she said.

In 2023, the governor signed Senate Bill 2803 into law, making it easier for Illinoisans released from jail or federal prison to access ID cards before leaving the system.

Benford and Pritzker first met when Benford was a resident of the Grace House and beginning her transition back into society in 2019.

Benford’s record on the job in Chicago impressed the first lady over the next four years and in 2023, Pritzker personally called Benford to offer her the position as her senior advisor on women’s issues in her office.

“She brings an intelligence and a vigor to this work that I don’t think anybody else could do,” Pritzker said of Benford. “I believe in Willette and I think there’s good in every person, and there’s a whole lot of good in Willette.”

Pritzker and Benford have focused on addressing the barriers faced by women exiting the criminal justice system. They’ve collaborated on efforts to improve policies and programs to improve stable housing, employment, and mental health care.

“Poverty is a driver of incarceration,” Benford said.

The two are gearing up to launch a pilot program to support 100 women returning home after incarceration. The program offers subsidized housing, job training and childcare.

“You know, the lesson is you just really shouldn’t judge people. You need to give people grace and it’s really amazing what two women from two completely different backgrounds can do when they join forces,” Pritzker shared.  

David Begnaud

David Begnaud is a CBS News contributor and previously served as the lead national correspondent for “CBS Mornings,” based in New York City.