The state appropriation for civil legal assistance agencies that are funded through the Illinois Equal Justice Foundation was an early victim of budget slashing by the recently departed governor.
Legislation sponsored by State Sen. Jeff Schoenberg (SB 3028) called for an increase in the fiscal 2009 appropriation from $3.5 million to $5 million, which would still be much lower than that of other Midwest states.
But the IEJF funding was cut to $2 million by the governor, and many other social service organizations experienced similar reductions.
Good news followed, however, when Attorney General Lisa Madigan, whose office administers the appropriation, included an additional $1.5 million for IEJF in a sweep of litigation funds into general revenue.
As a result, 22 legal aid organizations throughout the state will share ultimately in the $3.5 million pool. So far, a delay in transfer of the $2 million appropriation has permitted IJEF to award payment of only 43 percent of each grant.
The three largest grants are $721,000 to the Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation, $658,250 to Prairie State Legal Services, and $353,792 to the Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago.
The bulk of Land of Lincoln’s funding will support legal representation and self-help information to income-eligible residents of 65 counties in Southern and Central Illinois.
Prairie State will provide similar services to eligible clients in 35 Northern and Central Illinois Counties. Both organizations also operate legal information centers in county courthouses.
The Legal Assistance Foundation grant supports attorneys and paralegals who represent West and South Suburban clients in domestic violence, housing and mortgage foreclosure cases. Veterans assistance also is provided.
Following is a list of other IEJF grantee organizations and the amounts they will receive.
Coordinated Advice and Referral Program for Legal Services, a Cook County telephone hotline for assistance and referrals, and self-help courthouse desks: $320,000.
Illinois Legal Aid Online, a statewide virtual self-help center with resources, interactive forms and technical assistance: $200,000.
Equip for Equality – Chicago, Rockford, Carbondale and Springfield - for advice and referrals on special education issues and information on the Americans with Disabilities Act: $160,000.
Center for Conflict Resolution, providing assistance through mediation in the Chicago area: $135,000.
Chicago Legal Clinic, for education, resources and referrals through court advice desks on mortgage foreclosures, and paternity and child support issues: $100,000.
Chicago Volunteer Legal Services Foundation for service as guardian ad litem in probate guardianships and representation in foreclosures and subsidized housing evictions: $100,000.
Legal Aid Bureau of Metropolitan Family Services, for advice and representation in housing and consumer issues in Calumet and Midway offices, and abused South Side seniors: $90,000.
Cabrini Green Legal Aid in Chicago and Resolution Systems Institute downstate receive $70,000 each; Southern Illinois University School of Law Foundation, $62,500; Life Span Center for Legal Services in Chicago, $60,000.
Immigration Project in Bloomington, $50,000; National Immigrant Justice Center in Chicago-Berwyn-Waukegan, $50,000; Will County Legal Assistance Program in Joliet, $50,000; Kankakee Center for Conflict Resolution at the John R. Tate Advocacy Center, $38,000.
Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law (statewide), $30,000; DePaul University College of Law Asylum and Immigration Clinic in Chicago, $25,000; Lawyers’ Committee for Better Housing in Chicago, $20,000; Chicago Coalition for the Homeless in Chicago, $15,000.