Jaylin McClinton

Jaylin is a life-long Chicagoan, born in Bronzeville and raised in Roseland–both neighborhoods–on the South Side. McClinton credits his late maternal grandmother Bertha Cross, a product of Grenada, Mississippi and a long-time homemaker, with his unwavering commitment to social justice. Currently, Jaylin is a Building The Bench Counsel for the Alliance For Justice, a progressive legal advocacy group, responsible for overseeing our courts and the judicial nominations process.

Prior to this, McClinton was a Government and Political Affairs Consultant. During the 2022 election cycle, Jaylin ran an insurgent campaign for 5th District Cook County Board Commissioner. While unsuccessful, McClinton remains committed to politics and public service.

Before law school, Jaylin was employed at the Barack Obama Foundation; for then-Illinois State Representative Juliana Stratton, now the Lieutenant Governor; and in the Obama-Biden Administration’s final cohort of the White House Internship Program, a prestigious leadership and development opportunity for emerging, college-aged American changemakers. Earlier, McClinton was an elected student member of the University of Illinois System Board of Trustees.

Jaylin is a devoted alumnus and graduate of the Chicago-Kent College of Law, where he earned his Juris Doctor becoming the first lawyer in his family; the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he majored in African-American Studies and Political Science with a Pre-Law Concentration, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts & Sciences; Curie Metropolitan High School, where he completed the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme; and Saint Sabina Academy.

McClinton is actively involved with the American Constitution Society; the Cook County Bar Association; Just The Beginning – A Pipeline Organization; the Pretrial Justice Institute; and The Appellate Project. In addition, Jaylin mentors a host of high school, undergraduate, and law students. McClinton is an avid runner; the proud son of Cassandra Cross, a non-profit administrator; and presently resides in the South Deering community.