Our Blog

November 28, 2018

A Legacy of Justice

2014 Equal Justice Works Fellow Lee Robbins. EJW Fellowships are just one initiative the Brode Fund has made possible through the CBF.

As a public foundation, the good work of the CBF is only possible through the voluntary support of thousands of individuals and dedicated partners who contribute in so many different ways. And […]

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November 21, 2018

A Partnership to Benefit All

More than 200 law firms, corporate law departments and other law-related businesses of all sizes in the Chicago area are vital partners with the CBF in the larger cause of ensuring the justice system is fair and accessible for everyone in our community.

These dedicated firms and companies provide core funding for the CBF’s work as […]

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November 20, 2018

A Society for Access to Justice

A quick Google search of the meaning of the word society yields the following phrases: the community of people living in a particular country or region and having shared customs, laws and organizations, and an organization or club formed for a particular purpose or activity.

Those two definitions together exemplify the purpose of the CBF Justice […]

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November 19, 2018

Life Fellows Laid Foundation for the CBF

As we continue to celebrate the CBF’s 70th Anniversary this year, we take pride in the fact that the CBF has long been a powerful force for good thanks to the strong support of Chicago’s legal community. That never would have happened, however, without the leadership and generous support of a number of dedicated individuals […]

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November 16, 2018

The Legal Aid Hall of Fame

To wrap up his term as CBF President, Tom Morsch had an inspiring vision. A leader in Chicago’s legal community and a pro bono pioneer, Tom always felt that lawyers in private practice received a disproportionate amount of recognition for their pro bono contributions in comparison to the lawyers who have dedicated their careers to public interest law at often great financial sacrifice. Motivated to create meaningful public recognition for these unsung heroes, he and his family worked with the CBF to establish the CBF Thomas H. Morsch Public Service Award.

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November 15, 2018

New Illinois Judicial Conference Will Look to the Future of Illinois Courts

CBF Executive Director Bob Glaves and CBF Board Member Justice Mary K. Rochford are among the Illinois Supreme Court’s appointees to the newly constituted Illinois Judicial Conference.  Glaves and Rochford are among 29 members (15 judges and 14 non-judges), with Chief Justice Lloyd Karmeier serving as Chair, who will be tasked with creating and implementing […]

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November 15, 2018

New and Graduating JEP Attorneys Ready for New Growth

Last week, the CBF Justice Entrepreneurs Project (JEP) celebrated the graduation of the ninth cohort of participants to successfully complete the 18-month program and welcomed in the twelfth group of attorneys aiming to build innovative and affordable law practices.

Attorneys graduating from the JEP. Good luck!

Graduates Daniel Hernandez and TJ Walczak work on family […]

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November 15, 2018

Access to Justice: How We Will Know When We Get There

When I recently took a stab at defining what we mean when we say access to justice, I looked to the great Yogi Berra for inspiration: If you don’t know where you’re going, you might not get there.

Now that we have established a working definition of where we are going (at least I have!), the question becomes how do we measure our progress to that promised land.

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November 12, 2018

We Felt Like We Were Drowning in a Sea of Goodwill

As recently as just a few years ago, that was a common refrain heard among Illinois veterans facing legal issues. While our veterans and military personnel generally knew there were a lot of lawyers and others who wanted to help them, there was no easy way to make those connections.

At the same time, there was […]

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November 8, 2018

Looking at the Court System through the Eyes of the People

To the say that the legal system looks daunting to someone who is not trained in the law and is often facing a serious legal issue when they arrive at the courthouse would be a vast understatement. And that is even more true at the Daley Center, perhaps the largest and busiest single courthouse in […]

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