The IL Equal Justice Foundation (IEJF), working with the Illinois Access to Civil Justice Council, is pleased to announce grants totaling $1,224,269 to nine legal aid organizations to create the Illinois Armed Forces Legal Aid Network (IL-AFLAN). This funding was made possible via the amended Access to Justice Act and comes from a temporary $2 surcharge to civil filing fees.

Trish McGill, Chair of the Council, said “I am very proud of the work that the IL Access to Civil Justice Council put into evaluating and selecting grantees for the Illinois Armed Forces Legal Aid Network. We have chosen an experienced group of nine legal service providers from across Illinois to provide civil legal services to members of the military and veterans utilizing a hotline and network model. I am also excited, because now that the grantees have been selected, we can get to work building this important project into a functioning program that will help our Illinois veterans and service members.”

IL-AFLAN will feature an attorney-staffed statewide hotline and network of legal aid providers who will help veterans, active duty military, and members of the reserve and national guard with their civil legal problems. Anticipated services include: family, housing, consumer, education, and elder law issues as well as discharge upgrades and VA benefits appeals. IL-AFLAN hopes to start providing services in the late summer. IEJF and the Council will remain involved as a coordinating and oversight body. Stay tuned for more details and the grand opening.

The 2017 grant list can be found here.