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US nonprofit · EIN 810968030 · Chicago, ILiSource and licenceOrganisation record IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File (EIN 810968030) - NTEE activity code, address.Board and officers IRS Form 990 annual filings, Part VII (directors, trustees, officers, key employees), read year by year to observe tenure.Latest return IRS Form 990 series e-file data - 990 for the year to 31 December 2025: assets, liabilities, staff, website, telephone, pay.Finances by year IRS Form 990 e-file data - total revenue and total expenses by tax year.Renewal outlook Computed by Governance Register from the observed filing history and filed revenue (us-approach-v4-clean). Not a statement that the organisation is recruiting.Principal officer IRS Form 990-N (e-Postcard) - principal officer named for tax year 2016.Deductibility IRS Publication 78 data (code PC), downloaded 18 October 2026.Licence US Federal Government public domain.How we handle data

West Side Justice Center Inc

Donations deductible
Revenue
$14m
year to 31 December 2025
Expenses
$13.8m
year to 31 December 2025
Total assets
$6.3m
$4.3m liabilities
Net assets
$1.9m
assets less liabilities
Directors and trustees
6
4.8y av
Staff
30
7 volunteers
Left since last filing
0
no seats appear to have opened
Officers and senior staff
6
named in Part VII
How am I connected?

West Side Justice Center Inc's network

6 people5 organisationsi6 people and 5 organisations on this map.The large node is the subject of this page. Solid lines are what the register itself records (6). Violet dotted lines (5) are likely: the same full name sits on the current board of another organisation in the same register and region. Form 990 filings give names without a person identifier; SEC insider filings carry a CIK. It may be a different person.

The board

6 listediTime on the board is observed from the annual filings: the IRS files no appointment date, so the bar counts years from the first filing the person appears on - a lower bound, not a filed start date. Names are exactly as filed. The IRS publishes no person identifier, so this edition does not yet link a person across organisations in the tables. The network map shows same-name matches as likely links only, never as confirmed.Tenure and departures are observed across annual filings. Observed tenure is a lower bound - a member may have joined before the first year on record. The organisation reported 6 voting members of its governing body on its latest Form 990 Part VI, which matches the board listed here.
NameRole as filedSinceOn the board
Benneth LeeDirector2020
6 yrs
Brendan ShillerDirector2024
2 yrs
Dr Lisa MooreDirector2023
3 yrs
Jennifer Ellis JacksonTreasurer2023
3 yrs
Melodie G Kern (also filed as Melodie Kern)President2019
7 yrs
Michael RuemmlerDirector2020
6 yrs
Under 5 years5 to 6 years6 years or more

Officers and senior leadership

6 listediNamed in Part VII as officers, key employees or highest-compensated staff - not board members, shown for completeness.
NameTitle as filedOn the filings
Brendan ShillerPresidentsince 2019
Charise WalkerCOOsince 2023
Jennifer Ellis JacksonTreasurersince 2019
Michilla BlaiseCompany secretarysince 2019
Sylvia SternDirector2022
Tanya D WoodsExecutive Directorsince 2019

Pay and hours

year to 31 December 2025iFrom Part VII of the Form 990: compensation reported for each officer, director, trustee, key employee and highest-paid staff member, and the average hours a week they report. Most board members are unpaid; a blank means nothing was reported. Pay from related organisations is shown separately.
NameTitle as filedHours a weekPay from the organisationRelated organisationsOther
Tanya WoodsExecutive Director40$135k
Charise WalkerCOO40$125k
Melodie G KernPresident2$0
Sylvia SteinVice President2$0
Jennifer Ellis JacksonTreasurer2$0
Michael RuemmlerDirector2$0
Brendan ShillerDirector2$0
Dr Lisa MooreDirector2$0
Benneth LeeDirector2$0

About

Legal name
West Side Justice Center Inc
EIN
810968030
Address
601 S California Ave, Chicago, IL, 60612-3305
State
Illinois
Mission
The Westside Justice Center is a community-centered organization that promotes a holistic approach to justice by: 1) Facilitating legal literacy to reduce recidivism; 2) Providing legal and quasi- legal assistance to individuals; and 3) Establishing and nurturing community trust through participatory deliberations and restorative justice practices, to collaboratively mitigate the... (as filed on the Form 990)
Activity (NTEE)
I80 Crime and legal-related
IRS classification
501(c)03 (tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) where shown)
Classified purpose
Crime & Legal-Related
Size band
6 (IRS master file code)
Formed
2015
Principal officer
Tanya Woods (as named on the Form 990)
IRS ruling date
1 May 2016
Status
Code 01 (unconditional exemption)
Form 990 filings on record
5, latest 2024
IRS Publication 78
PC (contributions deductible)

Most connected

Longest observed on the filings

≥7years on the filingsMelodie G Kern
≥6years on the filingsBenneth Lee
≥6years on the filingsMichael Ruemmler
≥3years on the filingsDr Lisa Moore

Latest return

year to 31 December 2025iFigures from the newest Form 990 or 990-EZ in the IRS e-file releases of 2025 and 2026, for the year ending 31 December 2025. US dollars, as filed.
Total assets
$6.3m
Total liabilities
$4.3m
Net assets or fund balances
$1.9m
Contributions and grants received
$14m
Program service revenue
$0
Employees
30
Volunteers
7

Filed finances

1 yeariTotals as filed on the IRS Form 990 (revenue and expenses), by tax year.
Tax yearTotal revenueTotal expensesSurplus or deficit
2024$13.4m$12.7m$654k

As filed on the IRS Form 990. US dollars.