We hope this email finds you and yours well. As with many other businesses and nonprofits in Illinois and around the country, PILI's staff are currently working remotely, but can still be reached by phone and email.
In light of the guidance from state and national officials we have also joined many other organizations and made the difficult decision to postpone our upcoming events. Both our Legal Service Agency Roundtable that was scheduled for March 26th and the YPB's Arcade for Legal Aid scheduled for April 1st have been postponed. We will announce new dates for these events as soon as possible.
As of now, the primary election is still set for Tuesday, March 17th and we have a guest post from Timna Axel from Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights about the work of Election Protection.
Finally, help desks and legal clinics are being closed around the state due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Vulnerable members of our community are now with even less resources to turn to for help.
If you are able, please logon toil.freelegalanswers.orgto remotely answer questions for clients in need.
Timna Axel, Director of Communications at Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, writes about their Election Protection project.
"At our organization, we define justice through a racial equity lens...For us, justice is denied when any number of voters is improperly turned away from the polls."
Illinois Free Legal Answers is a virtual legal clinic where low-income Illinois residents can submit a question online to ask a lawyer for help with a legal issue. It's the perfect pro bono anytime, even while practicing social distancing.Learn more.
IL-AFLAN provides civil legal services across Illinois to veterans, active duty military and their spouses and dependents and PILI refers pro bono matters in the 101 counties outside of Cook County. Help us serve those who have served us! Learn more.
Volunteers are needed in Champaign, Decatur, Madison, Peoria and Tazewell County Courthouses. Though we have canceled all help desks for the remainder of this month, we still need volunteers for many open spots through year-end. This is a great bite-size pro bono opportunity with a big impact!
Learn more.
The DuPage Expungement Clinic will provide free legal assistance to individuals seeking to clear their criminal record. Volunteers will consult with participants on available options for relief, prepare petitions to expunge and/or seal eligible records, and provide guidance on navigating the process from start to finish. Learn more.
Each month, PILI will spotlight one law firm or corporation that will host the official “PILI Illinois Free Legal Answers Clinic ” with their attorneys to answering questions on il.freelegalanswers.org.Read more here.
On February 26th, representatives from Illinois corporate legal departments met at the offices of Charles River Associates for PILI’s annual Corporate Pro Bono Roundtable. This year, the group discussed increasing engagement in corporate pro bono programs. Read more.
PILI is excited to announce that we received a new grant of $20,000 from the American Bar Endowment to purchase and implement Legal Server, a client management system. Read more.
PILI and the legal community talks a lot about increasing access to justice, but what do we mean by justice? Help us to define justice and raise $80,000 in new funding for PILI’s programs over the coming year. Learn more here.
