January 28, 2026
The CBF and our partners are fortunate to have a great new class of Illinois JusticeCorps fellows working at the Resource Center for People Without Lawyers for the Circuit Court, five dedicated individuals who have committed to spending a year helping people without lawyers. This year’s class includes (pictured above from left to right):
- Ethan Schneider is from the Chicago suburbs and graduated from Loyola University Chicago with a bachelor’s degree in international relations.
- Emilia Morales is from Chicago’s South Side and graduated from the University of Illinois Chicago with a bachelor’s degree in political science.
- Oche Harris is from the North Side of Chicago and graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with a bachelor’s degree in English and history.
- Alyssa Adams is from DuPage County and graduated from the University of Illinois Chicago with a bachelor’s degree in political science.
- Renato Jaramillo is originally from Colombia, South America, and graduated from the Ohio State University with a bachelor’s degree in Arabic and a minor in linguistics.
Over ten years ago, the CBF pioneered the Illinois JusticeCorps program an innovative program through which courthouse volunteers help to create a more welcoming and less intimidating environment for people without lawyers. Illinois JusticeCorps volunteers are college students and recent graduates who do this by effectively serving as docents for the court. They provide navigational assistance, referrals to legal aid and other available services, connections to online resources and court forms, and legal information on court procedures.
As the number of people going to court without lawyers has continued to grow over the past decade, Illinois JusticeCorps grew into a collaborative statewide AmeriCorps program thanks to a partnership with the Illinois Bar Foundation and the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Access to Justice, and additional support of the Serve Illinois Commission and the Corporation for National and Community Service. In collaboration with these statewide partners, the CBF continues to manage the program in the Circuit Court of Cook County.