Criminal justice reform has been an issue addressed in this state in recent years, Pritzker said, and should continue to be addressed. And there also has to be reinvestment in communities of color.

"This doesn’t get talked about every day and that’s the level of investment that’s required for us to the right thing for black and brown communities across the state of Illinois," Pritzker said. "People call it disinvestment, but the reality is there hasn’t been any investment for so long. It is disproportionately not in favor of the black community."

Rev. T. Ray McJunkins, pastor of Union Baptist Church, said the large numbers of people participating in the recent demonstrations showed that the issue has the attention of people.

"I thought to myself, how can we capitalize on these numbers?" he said. "It’s important that we bring forth not just rallies, but we ask what is on our dockets? Right now, my number one thing, I’m very concerned about the local police department respecting the elected officials."

That’s a reference to a Springfield police officer who was suspended after he allegedly used expletives to criticize Ward 2 Ald. Shawn Gregory in a Facebook post.

McJunkins also said he hopes lawmakers act to put "some teeth" into reforms at the state level so that the protests don’t become a "non-event that dies down."