About the Nonprofit
Visit Our Website
WHAT IS “LEGAL AID”?
Legal Aid is free representation in civil legal matters for clients who lack the resources to hire an attorney on their own. The American legal system promises equal justice to all citizens, but it’s also enormously complex, and hiring a lawyer to navigate through it can be prohibitively expensive. Too often, the high costs of representation block people living in poverty from participating in the legal system that is meant to protect them.
MISSION
Legal Aid Chicago seeks justice for people living in poverty. Through litigation and advocacy, our team of full-time lawyers and staff fight to secure individual rights to affordable housing, basic healthcare, fair working conditions, protection from abuse, and economic stability.
VISION
It is our vision that poverty will not be an impediment to justice in Cook County. Legal barriers that perpetuate poverty and inequality will be dismantled. Laws and legal systems will be open and equally effective for all who need their protection, especially those who experience unfair and disproportionately unjust treatment due to personal or community characteristics.
HOW WE HELP
Legal Aid Chicago resolves critical legal problems that trap people in poverty. Legal Aid Chicago staff prevent unfair evictions from the only decent housing our clients can afford; protects survivors of sexual assault, human trafficking and domestic violence; secures or preserves desperately needed benefits such as veterans’ benefits, social security or health benefits; assists senior citizens who have been swindled by consumer scams or robbed of their livelihoods through fraudulent consumer scams; and helps children receive the education they need to succeed.
As advocates for people living in poverty, Legal Aid Chicago witnesses how structural racism thwarts the health and stability of low-income communities and perpetuates the cycle of poverty. Free legal aid is a tool to fight racism in all its forms. Legal Aid Chicago joins with legal aid organizations across the country to speak out and work against racial injustice, including racially-biased policing.
Legal Aid Chicago strengthens the social safety net in our community and ensures that people living in poverty have a voice in the justice system. Each year it makes equal justice a reality for thousands of Cook County families.