April 2012 CBF Newsletter

Featuring the following topics:
Investing in Justice Campaign Wrapping Up
CBF Awards Over $1.1 Million in Special Project Grants
Nominate a Pro Bono or Public Service Attorney
Planning Underway for an Innovative New Pro Bono Project
Ryanne Easley Joins CBF Staff as Director of Grants
Free Legal Self-Help Web Center Opens in Markham
2012 Fat Tuesday Challenge a Success
Legal Aid Committee Meeting Celebrates Highlights from the Field

Call for Nominations

The Nominating Committee for The Chicago Bar Foundation is seeking nominations for several open board slots next year. Nominations are due by April 20th.

Get more information, including the nominations form and board member responsibilties.

CBF Report February/March 2012
The 2012 Investing in Justice Campaign

Chicago’s Legal Community Comes Together in Support of Access to Justice

As we enter the month of March, we know that a number of things we look forward to are just around the corner. For those of us who are sports fans, there is March Madness and Spring Training; for many of us, there are spring breaks and maybe a nice vacation to go with it; and for all of us, warmer weather is on the way, something we can all look forward to even after the relatively mild winter we’re just finishing. Another important happening we can all look forward to once again this March is the annual CBF Investing in Justice Campaign.  Read more. . .

Step up and support legal aid with Investing in Justice Campaign
The Chicago Daily Law Bulletin

If not for people like you, people like me would not stand a chance." — Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago client

Sheila, a longtime resident of public housing, was devastated when her 27-year-old son died after a severe asthma attack. Friends and family came to her home after the funeral to share their grief and to comfort her for this terrible loss. A few days later Sheila received a notice that her housing voucher was being terminated. The reason? The post-funeral gathering had violated Chicago Housing Authority rules by "disturbing" her neighbors. The Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago took the case, went to hearing and her voucher was saved.

Legal service programs make this kind of a difference every day. This month you have a special opportunity to be part of that difference. Read more...

Legal aid funding drive starts
The Chicago Daily Law Bulletin

Edward I. Grossman, executive director of Chicago Legal Clinic Inc., said his group lost about $60,000 this year.

The tough economy and cuts in the state budget, he said, forced some donors to give less at a time when a record number of Cook County people qualify for legal aid assistance.

Grossman said the group he helped start in 1981 served 40,000 people last year in about a dozen programs with 27 lawyers and 22 support staff - all on a budget of nearly $2.4 million.

Those numbers, however, would be different if the Chicago Bar Foundation's Investing in Justice Campaign didn't exist, he said.

Started in 2007 as a way to raise money from the legal community for local legal aid groups, the foundation launched its 2012 campaign Monday evening at Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Read more...

2012 Investing in Justice Campaign Kicks Off with a Reception at Kirkland & Ellis on March 5th

(L-R) CBF Executive Director Bob Glaves, Charles W. Douglas of Sidley Austin LLP, Jeffrey E. Stone of McDermott Will & Emery, Emily Nicklin of Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Anton R. Valukas of Jenner & Block LLP, William A. Von Hoene, Jr. of Exelon Corporation, and CBF President Kaarina Salovaara attended the March 5th Campaign kick off reception at Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Nicklin is the 2012 Investing in Justice Campaign Chair, and Douglas, Stone, Valukas and Von Hoene are all past chairs.

Law leaders discuss need to invest in justice
Chicago Lawyer

One in four people in Cook County qualify for legal aid assistance, a record number that has grown since the recession hit in 2007, the Chicago Bar Foundation (CBF) says.

The CBF says new challenges like the foreclosure epidemic send more people into legal disputes while budget woes shrink the amount of money dedicated to help them.

For 2012, Congress cut funding for the Legal Services Corp., a federal agency that funds legal aid in the U.S., by about 15 percent. On the state level, legal aid took a 50 percent cut in the 2009 budget process.

To help bridge the gap, the CBF started the Investing in Justice Campaign in 2007 to partner with the law community to help raise money for local legal aid organizations. Read more...

Sixth Annual Investing in Justice Campaign Kicks Off on March 5

More than 100 Chicago-area law firms, corporate legal departments and other legal organizations join together to raise critical funds for legal aid

Lawyers participate in Fat Tuesday fun
The Chicago Daily Law Bulletin