Purpose
The IEJF makes grants to provide legal assistance to low-income Illinois residents who cannot afford to hire an attorney.
Priority Areas
The IEJF grants will focus on the provision of civil legal services throughout the State of Illinois, with a focus in disproportionately-impacted jurisdictions with the highest rates of arrest and conviction for cannabis offenses, as designated by the R3 Board by data provided through the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA), found at https://icjia.illinois.gov/r3/.
Use of Grant Funds
Grants will be made to support direct service staff positions at eligible legal services providers, including attorneys, paralegals, legal assistants, intake staff, and/or pro bono coordinators. Grant funds can be used to pay for salaries, benefits, and limited overhead, including administrative costs, not to exceed10%. The applicant must demonstrate how the proposed staff position(s) will help the organization provide efficient and effective legal assistance to persons seeking cannabis expungement. Grant funds may also be used for client costs associated with accessing cannabis expungement relief, such as criminal history reports, required court documents, or other necessary expenses to determine eligibility or file for relief.
Eligibility
In the Legal Services category, the IEJF will only consider applications from Illinois-based not-for-profit organizations that:
- Serve persons in one or more R3 identified disproportionately-impacted jurisdictions.
- Have been in continuous operation for at least two years prior to the date the application is submitted to the IEJF.
- Employ two or more full-time, licensed attorneys who provide legal services to low-income persons at the time the application is submitted to the IEJF.
Evaluation Criteria
Grant applications in the Legal Services category will be evaluated based on:
- Demonstrated need for the proposed services, as reflected in the number of eligible clients in the applicant’s service area; current unmet demand; and requests for assistance from other community agencies serving the target populations.
- Demonstrated experience in providing criminal records relief services to clients.