For 2006, the Illinois Equal Justice Foundation made grants totaling $1.9 million to 20 organizations. In some cases a single recipient received grants in more than one funding category. The grant recipients, along with a description of the purpose of the grant(s), are listed below:


Cabrini Green Legal Aid Clinic (Chicago)
To assist hundreds of low-income people with their family law problems ($12,000);
To assist individuals wishing to expunge arrest records and/or seal non-violent, misdemeanor convictions ($20,000).

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Center for Analysis of Alternative Dispute Resolution Systems (Statewide)
 To conduct an analysis of appropriate mediation delivery models by which mediation can be used to improve access to justice for low-income residents of Illinois ($32,000).

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Center for Conflict Resolution (Chicago)
To assist thousands of people throughout Cook County in resolving a wide array of disputes through mediation ($75,000).

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Center for Disability and Elder Law (Chicago)
To support a Pro Bono Coordinator position to provide legal services to elderly people in Chicago ($10,000).

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Chicago Coalition for the Homeless (Chicago)
To provide outreach and legal information on education rights to homeless youth ($15,000).

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Chicago Legal Clinic (Chicago)
To provide education, resources and referrals for Cook County residents faced with foreclosure proceedings at an Advice Desk in the Cook County Circuit Court ($49,000).

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Chicago Volunteer Legal Services (Chicago)
To protect hundreds of children by serving as Guardian Ad Litem in Cook County probate guardianship cases ($50,000);

To support a Clinic Administrator position to coordinate the clinic pro bono program ($10,000).

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Coordinated Advice & Referral Program for Legal Services (Chicago)
To help thousands of low-income people in Cook County by providing legal advice, self-help materials, guidance on how to use the court system and referrals through a telephone hotline ($175,000);

To assist unrepresented parties with advice, information and form preparation at the Domestic Relations Self-Help Desk ($30,000) and at the Collections Self-Help Desk ($20,000) in the Cook County Circuit Court.

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Equip for Equality (Chicago, Rock Island & Springfield)
To provide legal information on the American with Disabilities Act, special education and guardianship to people with disabilities across the state through their Training Institute ($45,000).

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Illinois Legal Aid Online (Statewide)
To support a Statewide Virtual Self-Help Center that provides Illinois residents with user-friendly online legal resources and interactive forms to help them better resolve their legal problems and which coordinates, supports and provides technical assistance to self-help and legal information projects across the state ($125,000).

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Kankakee Center for Conflict Resolution/Victims Assistance Center (Kankakee)
To assist people throughout Kankakee County in resolving a wide array of disputes through mediation ($34,000).

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Lawyers for Better Housing (Chicago)
To support a Pro Bono Coordinator and a Legal Assistant position to increase and improve pro bono representation of low-income defendants facing eviction and other housing matters ($15,000).

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Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation (Alton, Champaign, East St. Louis, Carbondale and Springfield)
To serve thousands of low-income people in 65 counties in central and southern Illinois by providing legal advice, self-help materials, guidance on how to use the court system and referrals through a telephone hotline ($175,000);

To help elderly people in 25 counties in central and southern Illinois by providing legal assistance for elder abuse and neglect, guardianship, health and long-term care issues and consumer matters through senior centers, nursing homes and home visits ($50,000);

To provide low-income people in 65 counties with representation on family ($100,000) and housing ($65,000) law cases;

To provide information and assistance to low-income people with landlord/tenant issues in Madison ($6,000), Champaign ($7,400), Morgan and Sangamon County Circuit Courts ($9,700);

To provide instruction on divorce issues to additional low-income residents of Southern Illinois through a video collaboration with Southern Illinois University Law School and Shawnee Community College ($5,600).

To plan a Self-Help Center in Madison County ($9,300).

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Legal Aid Bureau of Metropolitan Family Services (Chicago)
To protect and support families on the south side of Chicago in which grandparents are assuming full-time parenting roles and to protect seniors abused by guardians and caregivers ($65,000).

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Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago (Chicago)
To protect elderly people throughout Cook County against consumer fraud by providing information and legal assistance ($80,000);

To help victims of domestic violence in 22 western Cook County suburbs by providing information, advice and legal assistance ($65,000);

To help low-income families with housing issues in the south suburbs ($30,000).

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Life Span Center for Legal Services (Chicago)
To support a bilingual paralegal position on the northwest side of Chicago to provide domestic violence and family law assistance to battered immigrant women ($25,000).

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Midwest Center for Law and the Deaf (Statewide)
To plan a web-based self-help center featuring American Sign Language to assist deaf and hard of hearing people with their legal needs ($5,000).

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Prairie State Legal Services (Carol Stream, Waukegan, Galesburg, Peoria, Ottawa, Batavia and St. Charles)
To serve thousands of low-income people in 35 counties in northern and central Illinois by providing legal advice, self-help materials, guidance on how to use the court system and referrals through a telephone hotline ($175,000);

To provide representation to victims of domestic violence and families in crisis ($115,000), families with housing emergencies ($50,000) and senior citizens ($15,000) across 22 counties via service offices in Batavia, Waukegan, Peoria, Kankakee and Galesburg;

To assist in the development of a Self-Help Center at the Kane County Courthouse Law Library that will offer the public information, forms and internet-based materials ($43,000).

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Southern Illinois University School of Law Foundation (Carbondale)
To help low-income families and children resolve custody and visitation issues by providing mediation services through its Alternative Dispute Resolution Clinic in 9 counties in the First Judicial Circuit ($17,300);

To plan the development of a community mediation center in Carbondale ($9,700);

To serve thousands of people in southern Illinois by providing access to legal information by mail, via the internet and through community outposts ($15,000).

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Will County Legal Assistance Program (Joliet)
To support victims of domestic violence in Will County by providing comprehensive legal services to facilitate permanent escape from abuse ($25,000);

To provide representation to families in housing crisis and to low-income people impacted by consumer fraud ($20,000).