Hotline Number 312-738-9200
October 1, 2020
THE DAY HAS ARRIVED...
WE MADE IT!

Join us at 7:30 TONIGHT for the

CARPLS GOLDEN GAVEL
VIRTUAL CELEBRATION
We'd also like to welcome our newest Frontline sponsor:
Our newest Partner sponsors:
And our newest Guardian sponsor:
For the full list of sponsors, please visit our event page, and to make a donation, go to www.carpls.org/make-a-donation/ or contact [email protected]. New donations will be generously matched.
Changing Our Community for the
Better, One Legal Problem at a Time 
The COVID-19 pandemic has stretched our community beyond the already devastating health effects. As of this writing, nearly 9,000 Illinoisans have lost their lives and over 20,000 have been hospitalized. There have been terrible socioeconomic implications: 

  • 1.3 million Illinoisans are unemployed; 
  • An estimated 32% didn’t pay for their housing last month, including 24 million US renters that cannot pay their rent; 
  • 35,000 debt collection cases have been filed in Cook County since August; 
  • Divorce is up 34% over last year; 
  • Domestic violence is up 20% 

But many of the legal implications of the pandemic—such as evictions, collections, and divorces—have yet to fully materialize.

CARPLS and the legal aid community in Chicago and across Illinois are working together to ease some of the legal fallout about to take place for vulnerable members of the community.
Benny the Illinois Unemployment
 Virtual Assistant!
Meet Benny, an unemployment benefits bot. Benny is free and confidential, and can help make the unemployment benefits process a little easier. 

If you are in Illinois and unemployed, Benny is designed to help you along the road to getting Illinois unemployment benefits. Benny is a project of CARPLS Legal Aid.

By answering a few questions, Benny can:

  • Help get you on the right path to applying for unemployment benefits;
  • Help identify why you might be having problems getting the benefits you need;
  • Help you navigate the unemployment hearing and appeals process. 

As unemployment benefits are a government benefit, sometimes all the rules and regulations can trip you up. If your situation is more complicated, Benny can link you to talk with a free legal aid attorney for a confidential legal consultation, or direct you to other legal aid resources available online to educate you further. 
Protecting Housing In Chicago
With the Just Housing Initiative, housing providers in Chicago can no longer deny someone housing based on previous arrests, juvenile records or convictions more than three years old. Learn more here and call CARPLS at 312-738-9200 with any questions!
"She Has Been So Absolutely Helpful."
"Amy," was locked out of her apartment by her landlord and didn't know what to do. She called CARPLS and the attorney followed up with her several times to help her resolve the situation.

Amy said: "The attorney helping me with my situation has been so absolutely helpful. She was confident in her understanding of the matter, and actually called back when she said she would. She was so great."
CARPLS Is Here For Those In Need
CARPLS is committed to raising awareness on domestic violence as it greatly affects our client community and society at large.

“There’s still a lot of work to be done,” Maria Mora, CARPLS Supervising Attorney says. “People talk about domestic violence, but I’m not so sure how many people empathize. As a society, we have certain biases that are still in place and we need to do more than just talk...what [CARPLS does] is give [people] the tools to move their lives forward. They have to build their lives apart from these destructive relationships.”
CARPLS | 17 N. State Street | Suite 1850 | Chicago | Illinois | 60602 | carpls.org