ON DECEMBER 7, 2022, THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED 35 GRANTS to 30 NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS TOTALING $3,800,010.  THESE GRANTS WERE MADE POSSIBLE BY A STATE APPROPRIATION FOR CIVIL LEGAL AID THAT PASSES THROUGH THE BUDGET OF THE OFFICE OF THE ILLINOIS ATTORNEY GENERAL.

These grants were made possible by a state appropriation for civil legal aid housed that passes through the budget of the Office of the Illinois Attorney General.

Prairie State Legal Services (Bloomington, Galesburg, Joliet, Kankakee, McHenry, Ottawa, Peoria, Rockford, Rock Island, St. Charles, Waukegan and Wheaton) ($915,000)

  • To serve thousands of low-income people in 36 counties in northern and central Illinois by providing legal advice, self-help materials, guidance on how to use the court system and referrals through a telephone hotline ($665,000).
  • To provide legal representation in social security disability benefits appeals for disabled adults in 36 counties ($250,000).

Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation (Alton, Champaign, East St. Louis, Carbondale and Springfield) ($900,000)

  • To provide low-income people in 65 counties with representation on family and consumer law cases ($715,000).
  • To serve thousands of low-income people in central and southern Illinois by providing legal advice, self-help materials, guidance on how to use the court system and referrals through a telephone hotline ($185,000).

Coordinated Advice & Referral Program for Legal Services (Cook County) ($275,000)

To help tens of thousands of low-income people in Cook County by providing legal advice, self-help materials, guidance on how to use the court system and referrals through a telephone hotline.

Equip for Equality (Chicago, Rock Island, Carbondale & Springfield) ($190,000)

  • To provide legal advice, information and referrals on special education issues through a statewide telephone helpline.
  • To provide legal advice, information and referrals on employment rights for jobseekers and employees with disabilities via a statewide hotline.

Legal Aid Chicago (Cook County) ($175,000)

To support attorney positions in the consumer practice group who provide civil legal assistance on consumer and foreclosure matters to senior citizens and low-income families in Cook County.

Illinois Legal Aid Online (Statewide) ($125,000)

To support the development, provision, and accessibility of accurate, user-friendly web-based legal information to Illinoisans facing legal problems.

Law Center for Better Housing (Cook County) ($125,000)

To support the continued development and implementation of Rentervention, a chat bot providing eviction information and its Virtual Legal Clinic.

Cabrini Green Legal Aid (Cook County) ($100,000)

  • To assist individuals wishing to expunge arrest records and/or seal non-violent, misdemeanor convictions to obtain employment and attain economic self-sufficiency via outposts at the Richard J. Daley Center, the Markham Courthouse and the Juvenile Temporary Center ($60,000).
  • To provide legal information, advice and representation on matters involving parental responsibility, divorce, and discharge of guardianships for individuals who are currently incarcerated and/or are experiencing family separation because of involvement with the criminal legal system ($40,000).

Center for Conflict Resolution (Cook County) ($100,000)

To assist thousands of Cook County residents resolve a wide array of disputes through mediation services.

Center for Disability and Elder Law (Cook County) ($95,000)

  • To support legal information, advice, and representation on landlord/tenant matters for seniors and people with disabilities. ($75,000).
  • To support a self-help litigant desk providing adult guardianship guidance ($20,000).

Resolution Systems Institute (Kane, Winnebago & Kankakee Counties) ($85,000)

To support eviction mediation programs in three judicial circuits in northern Illinois.

Greater Chicago Legal Clinic (Cook County) ($75,000)

To provide direct representation to working class people with family law issues.

Governors State University Foundation (University Park) ($70,000)

To provide free accessible self-help legal information to underrepresented individuals, families and communities who cannot afford counsel.

Dispute Resolution Institute (Carbondale) ($60,000)

To help low-income families resolve custody and visitation issues with mediation services in the First Judicial Circuit.

Chicago Volunteer Legal Services (Cook County) ($50,000)

To protect children by serving as Guardian Ad Litem in probate guardianship cases and as a Child Representative in domestic relations cases.

James B Moran Center for Youth Advocacy (Evanston) ($50,000)                                                                        To support civil legal assistance on family and housing matters for low-income families in three elementary schools.

Public Interest Law Initiative (Statewide) ($50,000)

To support self-represented litigant help desks in four counties in the Sixth and Tenth Judicial Circuits, to support virtual pro bono assistance via Free Legal Answers, to support a school and to support the “Legal Help Within Reach” project, which brings lawyers from urban areas to rural areas to provide pro bono legal assistance.

Ascend Justice (Cook County) ($45,000)

To provide civil legal assistance to parents and caregivers wrongly accused of abuse and neglect.

Life Span (Cook County) ($45,000)

To provide culturally sensitive legal representation to Arab-American domestic violence survivors.

North Suburban Legal Aid Clinic (Lake and Cook Counties) ($45,000)

To support civil legal assistance to domestic violence survivors.

Beyond Legal Aid (Cook County) ($30,000)

To provide family law assistance to low-income people at six community-embedded sites.

Raise the Floor Alliance (Chicago) ($30,000)

To provide Know Your Rights education on labor, wage, and employment law to low-wage workers in Northern Illinois and Cook County.

Uptown Peoples Law Center (Uptown neighborhood/Chicago) ($26,000)

To provide civil legal assistance to Uptown residents with landlord/tenant and social security disability benefits issues.

Legal Council for Health Justice (Chicago) ($25,000)

To provide legal advice and representation to lower-income families, seniors, immigrants, veterans, and homeless people facing complex legal issues due to disabilities and special health needs.

Alliance of Local Service Organizations (Hermosa, Logan Square, Humboldt Park and West Town neighbors of Chicago) ($20,000)

To share legal information about relevant areas of law in the form of know-your-rights presentations to groups of community members, develop products explaining legal rights, and provide legal consultations to individuals.

Chicago House and Social Service Agency (Chicago) ($20,000)

To support TransLegal and its self-help legal assistance to the transgender community.

Children’s Legal Center (Chicago) ($20,000)

To provide family law/guardianship legal services to children of immigrants who have been abused, abandoned or neglected.

Farmworker and Landscaper Advocacy Project (Cook County and northern collar counties) ($20,000)

To support community legal education workshops in partnership with the Mexican Consulate in Chicago and their mobile unit.

Shriver Center on Poverty Law (Statewide) ($20,000)

To create public-facing fact sheets, in multiple languages, providing legal information related to immigrants’ eligibility for health and public benefits.

Chinese American Service League (Statewide) ($15,010)

To operate a free legal advice helpline that provides advice to low-income Chinese speaking and other LEP clients throughout Illinois.

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