A record $5,987,310 in legal assistance grants will be distributed to 32 agencies throughout the state next year by the Lawyers Trust Fund of Illinois.

The announcement was made June 2 by LTF Board President Peggy A. Davis during the annual reception in the ISBA Chicago Regional Office.

The historic milestone follows closely the recent announcement by the Illinois Equal Justice Foundation that its 2007 grants will jump to $3.5 million from $1.9 million this year.

The Lawyers Trust Fund's 32.7 percent increase from $4,510,500 in the current year is due to rising interest rates on lawyers' trust accounts, better cooperation among participating banks, and an increase in the number of registered attorneys who pay $42 per year toward legal aid.

Since the Illinois Supreme Court established the registration surcharge three years ago, LTF granting has risen substantially. The total of $3,707,500 for 2004 would have been less than $2 million without the additional funding.

From a previous peak of $4,494,341 in grants for 1993, the total began to drop as interest rates declined. The 2007 record of almost $6 million is more than double the low point of $2,769,400 in 1996.

The largest LTF grants next year will be $1,183,000 to Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation and $1,024,011 to Prairie State Legal Services – both all-time records.

The operations of the two multi-county regional agencies have been hampered severely in recent years by cuts in federal budgeting for legal services. They also receive the largest grants annually from the Equal Justice Foundation.

Other large LTF grants for 2007 are $639,160 for the Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago, $489,000 for the Coordinated Advice and Referral Program for Legal Services, $465,000 for the Chicago Volunteer Legal Services Foundation, and $350,000 for Illinois Legal Aid Online.

Incorporated in 1981 by the Illinois State Bar and Chicago Bar Associations, the Lawyers Trust Fund survived on voluntary contributions until the Supreme Court made IOLTA participation mandatory in 1987.

The first grants, totaling $100,000 were made in 1984, and the first million-dollar mark was reached in 1989. The grand total, 1984 through 2007, will be more than $67 million.