Our Blog

November 24, 2020

CBF Joins Cook County, Circuit Court, and Other Partners to Launch Groundbreaking Program for Eviction and Consumer Debt Cases

A new Early Resolution Program (ERP) that will provide legal help for thousands of people in Cook County facing eviction and consumer debt issues was officially launched yesterday at a press conference hosted by the County.

The program is part of a broader new initiative for housing and debt issues, Cook County Legal Aid for Housing […]

Tags: | | | read more ...
November 23, 2020

Fall Benefit Wows Kids and Adults Alike

Thank you to those who participated in The Chicago Bar Foundation’s virtual Fall Benefit on Saturday, November 21. Whether you made pizza, watched magic and science shows, mixed your own cocktail/mocktail, or enjoyed music and comedic performances, we hope you had fun while supporting an important cause.

Tags: | read more ...
November 19, 2020

A Self-Inflicted Access to Justice Scourge

By Bob Glaves | CBF Executive Director

In recent posts, I have been highlighting the larger systemic changes we need to make to significantly move the needle on improving access to justice, and for good reason. As we continue to push forward on those critical fronts, however, there is much we can do on our own […]

Tags: | read more ...
November 18, 2020

Our Supreme Thanks and Congrats

It is a time of significant transitions on the Illinois Supreme Court as Justice Tom Kilbride and Justice Lloyd Karmeier will soon complete distinguished terms on the Court, and Justices David Overstreet and Robert Carter prepare to become the Court’s newest Justices.

We thank Justices Kilbride and Karmeier for their impressive commitment to equal access to […]

Tags: read more ...
November 9, 2020

Newly Minted JEP Alumni Ready to Grow and Serve

Last week the CBF Justice Entrepreneurs Project celebrated the graduation of the May 2019 cohort, the thirteenth cohort of participants to successfully complete the 18-month program. The graduates include Mahdis Azimi, Nikki Donnelley, Chelsea Herring, Courtney Kelledes, Michael Norton, Mitha Rao, and January Stramaglia. All seven graduates have built socially conscious and innovative businesses targeting middle-income people […]

Tags: read more ...
November 2, 2020

An Extraordinary Pro Bono Week

Like most gatherings in these times, last week the CBA/CBF’s 16th Annual Pro Bono Week went virtual for the first time. That didn’t stop hundreds of lawyers and other legal professionals in Chicago from participating in one of the many fan favorite events to celebrate the inspiring pro bono work in our community and to […]

Tags: | read more ...
October 21, 2020

Does it Really Matter?

News Flash: Pro bono is not the complete solution to the huge gap in access to justice. That is actually not news to anyone involved in this work, but it seems a lot more people of late have been highlighting what pro bono can’t do as they make their case for other solutions, often implying in the process that pro bono is less important or less worthy of our resources and attention.

Well, that is just plain wrong. Just because pro bono is not the solution on its own does not mean it is not an integral part of the larger quest to fulfill our nation’s ideal of a fair and accessible justice system for all. Pro bono in fact has a big role to play, and it matters in many other ways as well.

Tags: | read more ...
October 6, 2020

CBA/CBF Task Force on the Sustainable Practice of Law & Innovation Releases Final Report and Recommendations

The Chicago Bar Association and Chicago Bar Foundation Task Force on the Sustainable Practice of Law & Innovation officially released its final report and recommendations today after formally submitting them to the Illinois Supreme Court.

The problem the Task Force seeks to address in a nutshell is an untenable failure in the legal market: at the […]

Tags: | | read more ...
October 5, 2020

JEP Applications are Open

The CBF Justice Entrepreneurs Project is seeking entrepreneurial and social justice-minded applicants for its next class of participants who will begin the program in January 2021. 

The JEP prepares talented and entrepreneurial lawyers in the Chicago area to build innovative, socially conscious, and thriving law practices serving low and middle-income legal consumers and small businesses. We believe in the power […]

Tags: | read more ...
October 1, 2020

Jessica BednarzJessica Bednarz Named to Law Bulletin’s 40 Under 40

Congratulations to Jessica Bednarz, CBF Director of Innovation & the JEP, on being named one of this year’s Chicago Daily Law Bulletin’s 40 Under 40 recipients. Jess joins a very distinguished group of 2020 honorees, and we are incredibly proud of all the work she has done to improve access to justice in our community. […]

Tags: | read more ...