Equal Justice Foundation grants top $3.3 million

The Illinois Equal Justice Foundation (IEJF) has awarded more than $3.3 million in grants to 22 not-for-profit organizations that provide legal representation and other services to low-income residents who face critical legal challenges.

The grants range in scope from funding for Web-based legal information resources and telephone advice hotlines to mediation and full-scale litigation.

The IEJF also supports legal aid programs that partner with county courthouses, public libraries and community-based social service organizations to offer help where and when people need it, and to develop solutions to life problems.

“With these grants, legal aid organizations are able to directly help some of our most vulnerable residents,” said IEJF President Christine M. Ory, a past president of the DuPage County Bar Association.

“Our mission is to support programs that empower people to resolve their legal issues and regain control of their lives,” she added.

Last year, IEJF grants enabled more than 68,000 eligible individuals to receive legal assistance and provided electronic legal resources that were accessed some 400,000 times.

State funding for civil legal aid is appropriated through the Illinois Equal Justice Act and passed through the budget of the Illinois Attorney General’s Office.

Approved by the Illinois General Assembly and signed into law in 1999, the legislation recognizes the state’s responsibility to ensure equal access to the legal system. The appropriation has remained level at $3.5 million for the past three years.

Of the ten most populous states, Illinois ranks ninth in what it spends on critical civil legal aid services, Ory pointed out. The average spent among the 10 most populous states is $10.7 million.

Despite the level appropriation, the IEJF was able to fund new projects in its quest to support innovative, cost-effective initiatives that help low-income people understand the legal system and resolve routine legal problems more effectively.

The Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation and Prairie State Legal Services were awarded grants to develop 10 new court- and library-based, self-help legal information centers to serve the rural poor in downstate counties.

The Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago was awarded a grant to provide civil legal assistance in regard to veterans’ benefits issues.

For information about the Illinois Equal Justice Foundation, visit www.iejf.org. To learn more about the Equal Justice Illinois Campaign, a bi-partisan effort to increase the state appropriation for civil legal services for the poor, visit www.equaljustice illinois.org.