Prioritizing community

Natashee Scott serves as the Illinois lieutenant governor’s general counsel and deputy chief of staff

One of Natashee Scott’s (JD ’12) best rewards from her time at Loyola University Chicago School of Law? The community of women she met while enrolled in evening classes. Together, they balanced the demands of law school, jobs, pregnancies, and motherhood—and a decade later, they’re still in touch. The group chat’s name even boasts some school spirit: It’s titled “LUC’s Finest.”

Today, Scott works as the general counsel and deputy chief of staff for Illinois Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton, the first Black woman to hold that title in the state’s history. Scott oversees legislation, advises on clemency matters, and recommends candidates for state boards.

Scott’s law school ambitions began in grade school, when her older sister got an after-school job at a law firm. When she turned 19, Scott got a law firm gig, too. After a brief detour to get her MBA, she still felt drawn to law school. “At this point, I’m not the traditional student,” she says. “I’m older. I have a mortgage. I need to keep my job.” Loyola’s part-time program fit with her schedule.

After graduating, Scott worked with a private practice before taking a job with the Chicago Park District in 2016. As she negotiated park agreements and managed FOIA requests, she realized she enjoyed serving the City of Chicago. After Anna M. Valencia became Chicago city clerk, Scott secured the job as her chief legal counsel.

Under Valencia, Scott helped launch the Chicago Municipal Identification Program—also known as the Chicago CityKey—in 2018. The program allows all Chicago residents, regardless of age, gender, immigration status, or housing status, to receive a free ID that also functions as a library card, a CTA card, and a discount prescription card. Print locations popped up all over the city, so people could receive their new IDs right in their neighborhoods. “The chief advisor, the chief legal counsel—we were all out there printing IDs,” says Scott

“It’s one of the most diverse staffs I’ve ever worked on. The team brings passion and wisdom from their own lived experiences.”

Scott has always prioritized community in her work, and she says that working under two powerful women of color has been the highlight of her career. Regarding Stratton’s office, Scott says, “it’s one of the most diverse staffs I’ve ever worked on and in the office’s history. The team brings passion and wisdom from their own lived experiences.”

When she’s not at the office, Scott continues to give back through several community service initiatives like the Chicago Autism Network and the Westside Cultural Foundation, where she is the president and CEO. She also volunteers for the School of Law Dean’s Diversity Council, where she helps the next generation of law students find the support and community that shaped her own career. “Being able to do this is a way to give back to the Loyola community that poured so much into me,” she says. –Megan Kirby (March 2022)