Ralph Brill Endowed Chair Appointed to the Illinois Advisory Committee of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights

Chicago-Kent College of Law Ralph Brill Endowed Chair Cary Martin Shelby has been appointed to serve on the Illinois Advisory Committee for the United States Commission on Civil Rights. 

“I think it’s exciting to have this opportunity,” says Shelby. “As a lifelong Chicagoan, I think that this work is incredibly important.”

The commission was founded as a part of the 1957 Civil Rights Act to be an independent, bipartisan, fact-finding federal agency with the mission of informing national civil rights policy and helping to enhance enforcement of current policies.
There are 56 advisory committees—one in each state, one for the District of Columbia, and five for United States territories—that conduct studies into civil rights issues within their respective geographical areas.

“I was impressed by their past reports on exploring barriers to higher education for underrepresented groups,” says Shelby. “They also published a report on fair housing in Illinois. I was impressed by the committee’s prior work and excited at the prospect of lending my expertise to the committee’s future reports.”

Shelby researches at the intersection of race and systemic risk. She looks forward to thinking about how her research relates to the group’s future endeavors.

“It’s a great opportunity for me to lend my expertise within the areas of racial justice and financial stability,” she says, “and to explore the ways in which civil rights continue to be compromised for underrepresented groups within our state.”

The new commission was appointed in March 2025, and its first order of business is to determine a research project to undertake. Whatever it chooses, Shelby is sure that it will benefit the people of Illinois—and her research.

“I have explored the ways in which racism threatens financial stability and contributes to financial crises in ways that should be recognized by regulators,” Shelby says. “So, the extent to which our civil rights are compromised directly leads to the problems that I discuss in my research. Finding ways to resolve any ongoing gaps with respect to civil rights is really integral to my work as a professor.”