News Tag: Legal Aid Funding
August 10, 2018
CBF Grants: A Legacy of Impact
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.
Tags: CBF 70th Anniversary | Grants | Legal Aid Funding | Legal Aid Organizations read more ...July 25, 2017
Take Action: Support LSC Funding
As the FY18 federal budget process continues, the relevant Senate Subcommittee has approved level funding for the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) at $385 million. We encourage you to thank Senators Durbin and Duckworth for their strong support and to advocate with your Representative in the House to continue to support full funding for LSC.
Tags: Advocacy | Legal Aid Funding | LSC | Take Action read more ...June 23, 2017
New LSC Study on the Justice Gap
The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) released a comprehensive new study last week that shows the number of low-income Americans in need of legal help far exceeds the legal aid services available to help them. We encourage you to continue reaching out to Senators Durbin and Duckworth and your member of Congress to thank them for their continued support of strong funding for LSC.
Tags: Advocacy | Legal Aid | Legal Aid Funding | LSC read more ...May 19, 2017
CBF Joins Colleagues from Throughout the Country to Advocate for Access to Justice
The CBF once again co-anchored the Illinois team at the annual ABA Day in Washington last month. Working with our colleagues at the CBA, ISBA and ABA and a number of dedicated volunteers, our Illinois team once again met with the entire Illinois Congressional delegation.
Tags: ABA | Above and Beyond Volunteers | Advocacy | Legal Aid Funding | LSC read more ...May 18, 2017
Take Action: Support LSC Funding
As the FY18 federal budget process begins, we encourage you to reach out to your Senators and member of Congress and thank them for their continued support for the Legal Services Corporation, encouraging them to oppose any attempts to reduce or eliminate funding for LSC and instead support a much-needed increase in this funding.
Tags: Advocacy | Legal Aid Funding | LSC read more ...March 30, 2017
CBF Advocates in Springfield
The CBF traveled to Springfield the past two weeks to advocate for our two main state legislative priorities this year and to support the effort to restore state funding for the Illinois Equal Justice Foundation. We are happy to report that both legislative initiatives—a law simplifying the language governing evictions as well as a law to reform the system of court fees and fines—were voted out of their respective committees and are moving through the legislative process.
Tags: Advocacy | Legal Aid Funding read more ...March 23, 2017
The Right Way to Respond to the President’s Budget Proposal: Using Good Baseball Strategy
As you’ve surely heard by now, President Trump’s first budget blueprint released last week targets the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) and 18 other agencies for elimination, and calls for significant cuts to a number of other federal agencies and programs that provide vital help for people in need. This is just the start of the budget process and represents both a challenge and a big opportunity for our legal community to respond. We are advocates by trade with a strong hand to play here. We need to call on those skills to remind our members of Congress of the critical role LSC, as the principal funder of civil legal aid at the national level, and other federal access to justice programs play in assuring fairness in the justice system and carrying out one of our nation’s most fundamental responsibilities.
In honor of it being less than two weeks from the Cubs opening game as defending World Series champs (and how cool is it to be able to say that!), I think it is fitting to use a baseball analogy to frame the issue and talk about key points to remember for our legal community’s response.
It’s only the top of the second inning, but the opposing pitcher has knocked our team off its game by calling unusual and often unpredictable pitches and challenging basic notions of sportsmanship. The good news: it is still very early in the game, we’ve got the meat of our batting order coming up, one of our best pitchers on the mound, and a deep and rested bench and bullpen to call upon. While that is all good, it’s going to take a strong game plan to turn those advantages into a win.
Tags: Advocacy | Legal Aid Funding | LSC read more ...March 23, 2017
Take Action: Advocate for LSC Funding
As the FY17 federal budget negotiations continue, we encourage you to reach out to your Senators and member of Congress to encourage them to oppose any efforts to reduce or eliminate funding for the Legal Services Corporation (LSC), encouraging them to instead support a much-needed increase in this funding.
Tags: Advocacy | Legal Aid Funding | LSC read more ...March 17, 2017
Bar groups unite to save aid program
An article in the March 17, 2017 edition of the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin focuses on the President’s elimination of all Legal Services Corporation funding in his recently proposed budget and the devastating effects this funding loss would have on legal aid services in Illinois. The article highlights the response of LSC-funded organizations in Illinois and national and local bar groups, including the CBF.
Tags: Advocacy | CBF in the News | Legal Aid Funding | LSC read more ...January 27, 2017
Hands off Chicago’s legal aid funding
In an op-ed for Crain’s Chicago Business, CBF President Chuck Smith and Executive Director Bob Glaves respond to recent talk of eliminating federal funding for the Legal Services Corporation.
“Wherever we stand politically, we all should take this opportunity to restore confidence that everyone will get a fair shake in the justice system. Ensuring that there is proper funding for LSC is a critical part of our collective charge. This is not a partisan issue: It is a part of who we are as a country.”
Tags: Advocacy | CBF in the News | Legal Aid Funding | LSC read more ...