Earlier this month, the CBF and Cook County announced the recipients of outreach grants to 24 community-based organizations across Cook County totaling $180,000. The grants will fund community...
Building a Fairer and Better Justice System, Together You continue to make a tremendous impact through your partnership with the CBF by coming together with your peers throughout our legal community...
Grants to support pro bono and legal aid organizations have been a central part of the CBF's work since its inception. Last year, the CBF awarded over $2 million in grants, investing in the entire...
In the 70 years since its founding, the CBF has given out nearly $50 million in grants to support pro bono, legal aid and related initiatives, and more than $42 million since 1999.
Over that time, the CBF has honed its grantmaking focus around access to justice and expanded its grantmaking partnerships with other foundations, the courts, and government entities. More than 5,200 individual donors, more than 200 law firms, corporations and other law-related organizations, and the CBF’s many dedicated partners have enabled the CBF to increase our annual grants more than tenfold over the past 20 years. Today, the CBF awards over $2 million in grants, investing in the entire pro bono and legal aid system in our community.
The Bankruptcy Court Self Help Assistance Desk, run by Legal Aid Chicago, does just what you would expect it to do helps clients file for bankruptcy as they seek relief from suffocating piles of debt. But as with bankruptcy itself, the full reality is much more complicated and the help much more far-reaching than that.
The Desk aids unrepresented filers at every point in the bankruptcy process, which can be daunting and complex. In Room 622 of the Dirksen Building, pro bono attorneys and lawyers from Legal Aid Chicago answer general questions about bankruptcy, help visitors decide if bankruptcy is their best option, and help prepare forms for people without lawyers in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The Desk eases the burden on the court by helping patrons evaluate their options before unnecessarily filing for bankruptcy. Each year, about 44,000 bankruptcy cases are filed in the Northern District of Illinois, the most in the country, so every bit of paperwork reduction helps the court run more efficiently. Launched in 2007 as a partnership with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Legal Aid Chicago and the CBF, the Desk is one of the many projects you make possible through the Investing in Justice Campaign.
Chicago Daily Law Bulletin
By Emily Donovan | Law Bulletin Staff Writer
The Chicago Bar Foundation’s Investing in Justice Campaign collected more than $1.5 million from donors and $600,000 in grants this year.
The donations will be used for local pro bono and legal aid organizations.
It’s a foundation record, following a pattern since the campaign first launched 10 years ago.
It keeps growing, and we think it still has room to keep doing that, said Robert A. Glaves, foundation executive director. Read more…