FAQs

The Chicago Bar Foundation’s annual Investing in Justice Campaign is a special initiative each year in March where Chicago’s legal community comes together around a cause that is uniquely important to us as a profession: helping ensure that people in need in the Chicago area have equal access to justice by building the capacity of our overburdened pro bono and legal aid system.

100% of the contributions to the Campaign go directly toward CBF grants that advance this purpose. All contributions are tax-deductible and can be counted for purposes of the Illinois Supreme Court Pro Bono Reporting Rule.

Thousands of individual lawyers and legal professionals at law firms and corporations throughout the Chicago area participated in the Campaign in each of the first five years, collectively contributing over $5 million to support the work of our community’s pro bono and legal aid organizations and their dedicated attorneys.

Why is the Campaign necessary?

There are three underlying premises for the Campaign. First, while we all support a wide variety of worthy causes in our community, ensuring that all people in our community have equal access to that system is a cause that is distinctly important to us as lawyers and trustees of the justice system.

Second, despite the dedicated efforts of pro bono and legal aid attorneys in our community who help thousands of people each year, there is a huge gap today in access to civil legal assistance for the low-income and disadvantaged Chicagoans who most need the protections of the justice system. The need for assistance has grown even more in the aftermath of the recent economic crisis.

Finally, while we all have important roles to play as individuals, we have the power to significantly expand the capacity of our pro bono and legal aid system when the legal community comes together as one around this issue.

What do you mean when you say there is a justice gap in our community?

Out of more than 42,000 practicing lawyers in Cook County, there are less than 300 legal aid attorneys in the Chicago area to serve the more than 1.3 million low-income Cook County residents who are eligible for legal aid services. That is a new record of 1 in 4 people who qualify for legal aid today. As a result, more than half of low-income and disadvantaged Chicagoans who seek legal assistance that is often critical to their safety and independence are turned away and left to solve complex legal problems on their own.

Who are the people who depend on our community’s pro bono and legal aid organizations?

The low-income and disadvantaged people who depend on our community’s pro bono and legal aid organizations include women and children victimized by domestic violence; veterans being denied the benefits our country promised them; people facing wrongful eviction from their homes due to predatory lending and other consumer fraud; and many other vulnerable members of our community.

Whether these people have access to the legal help they need could mean the difference between shelter and homelessness; medical assistance and unnecessary physical suffering; food on a family’s table and hunger; economic stability and bankruptcy; productive work and unemployment.

Why is this so important right now?

The justice system continues to deal with an almost perfect storm right now. Today’s economic climate has resulted in increased demands for legal aid services at the same time that the other major sources of funding for legal aid are declining or under severe stress.

The number of people eligible for and in need of legal aid has grown significantly over the past few years, with 1 in 4 people now eligible for legal aid in Cook County alone. At the same time, the major sources of funding outside of the legal community are declining or under severe stress. The main source of funding in Illinois, the Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts Program administered by the Lawyers Trust Fund, already made significant cuts due to today’s historically low interest rates and may be forced to make even more cuts given that interest rates are projected to stay at this low level for an extended period. Federal funding for legal aid was cut by almost 17% over the past year, resulting in a loss of more than $1 million per year in Cook County alone. State funding for legal aid was cut by 50% three years ago and is likely to remain under severe stress for the foreseeable future. It is therefore incumbent on us as lawyers to step up right now.

I support a lot of other good causes. Why should I also support the Campaign?

While we are all asked to support a number of worthy causes throughout the year, the justice system is our “home turf” as lawyers, and we have both the responsibility and the power to make a real difference in our community. If we as lawyers don’t take the lead in this cause, no one else will.

While our legal community has faced some challenges of our own in recent years, as the trustees of the justice system this is our time to step up. It is an even tougher time right now for the low-income and disadvantaged people in the Chicago area, the people who are in most critical need of the protections of our justice system and increasingly have nowhere to turn for help.

How will my contribution to the Campaign make a difference?

The Campaign is a unique opportunity to invest in the entire pro bono and legal aid system with one contribution. With one gift to the Campaign, you support all of our community’s many outstanding legal aid organizations; help the dedicated attorneys pursuing legal aid careers; make it possible for pro bono attorneys to most effectively supplement the work of our legal aid counterparts; and underwrite innovative projects that make our justice system more user-friendly and accessible for people in need.

While it might not seem like your individual contribution could make a real difference, even a $100 contribution makes it possible for several people in need to get brief legal advice and assistance that often is enough to resolve their issue, and larger contributions enable people to get help with more complex legal problems. When your contribution is combined with thousands of other supporters of the Campaign (and the many firms and corporations that are matching individual contributions), the collective result is even more impactful. The pool of funds raised by the Campaign enables the CBF to directly leverage hundreds of thousands more in funding from other foundations and local government, while improving the overall pro bono and legal aid system for everyone’s benefit.

The Campaign is not a replacement for what we do as individual lawyers, law firms and corporations to support this cause; rather, it is recognition that there are some issues impacting our pro bono and legal aid system that are of such a large scale that we can address them far more effectively by coming together as a community.

Doesn’t Government bear the primary responsibility for funding legal aid?

While lawyers clearly have a leadership responsibility on these issues, equal access to justice is central to our democratic society, integral to the effective functioning of our justice system, and a critical part of the safety net for vulnerable members of our community. Funding for legal aid and related access to justice initiatives is one of the core responsibilities of our government.

On a parallel track with the Campaign, the CBF is actively working with other local and national organizations on efforts to ensure adequate government funding for legal aid at the federal, state and local levels. But with the continuing stress on public funding at every level of government, it is even more important than ever that we do our part as lawyers to ensure that the people who are in most critical need of the protections of our justice system have access to necessary legal help.

I already do pro bono work. Isn’t that enough?

Your commitment to doing pro bono work is a critical part of your role as a trustee of the justice system, and we commend you for it. For pro bono to be effective, however, we need strong legal aid organizations as partners, and investing in their work by providing financial backing and other support is a necessary complement to doing pro bono work. Legal aid organizations provide the necessary infrastructure to support pro bono work for area lawyers and legal professionals, including client screening, referral, training and support functions for volunteers. Legal aid programs also provide critical legal assistance to the most vulnerable members of our community in matters where specialization and expertise is necessary and pro bono is not a practical solution.

How will the CBF use the funds from the Campaign?

“Investing in Justice” is not just a catchy title for the Campaign. It reflects the CBF’s two- pronged strategy for closing the justice gap in our community through the CBF’s comprehensive grants program: investing in what we know works (i.e., the many outstanding people and organizations who anchor our community’s pro bono and legal aid system), while also investing in innovative projects and initiatives that improve access to our justice system and address gaps and emerging issues.

Specifically, 100% of the Campaign contributions again will go directly toward CBF grants that strengthen our community’s many outstanding legal aid organizations; help the dedicated attorneys pursuing legal aid careers; make it possible for pro bono attorneys to most effectively supplement the work of their legal aid counterparts; and underwrite innovative projects that make our justice system more user-friendly and accessible for people in need.

The CBF has received significant in-kind support from individuals, law firms and corporations and is underwriting all other operational expenses for the Campaign so that 100% of the contributions to the Campaign go directly to grants.

How broad is the impact of the Campaign grants?

The Campaign grants provide funding for a comprehensive range of services to many thousands of people in need for a wide variety of legal issues.

Those receiving services as a result of Campaign grants include the elderly, disabled, veterans and children; domestic violence victims; people at risk of losing their homes; immigrants fleeing persecution and abuse; and many other low-income and disadvantaged people in the Chicago area in critical need of legal assistance.

The Campaign grants fund a continuum of services to these people in need, including Web-based information and resources, legal aid hotlines, advice desks and clinics, extended representation and significant advocacy and impact litigation.

What types of innovative projects will the Campaign make possible?

The CBF invests in a variety of projects and initiatives to help move the justice system forward and address gaps and emerging issues in the pro bono and legal aid system. More detailed information is available in the Grants section and the Pro Bono section on the CBF website, but some examples include:

Several advice desks in the courts that give the growing number of unrepresented litigants access to legal advice, brief assistance and referrals.

Eight pro bono projects that increase the ability of pro bono lawyers to help close the justice gap in our community. Two examples are the Nonprofit Legal Assessment Project, which works with firms and corporations to provide comprehensive pro bono assistance to nonprofit organizations serving disadvantaged communities throughout the Chicago area; and the Disabled Adults Guardian ad litem Probate Court Pro Bono Project, which gives lawyers the opportunity to serve as pro bono GALs in the Circuit Court of Cook County’s Probate Division.

How does the CBF decide which organizations receive grants with the Campaign funds?

The CBF has a comprehensive grant screening and evaluation process that carefully vets pro bono and legal aid organizations before they receive grant funding. The CBF grants process is carried out by a highly-regarded board of lawyers and judges who are broadly representative of Chicago’s legal community with the assistance of CBF staff with widely recognized expertise on these issues. The CBF grants process ensures accountability and strategically allocates the Campaign funds to maximize impact, leverage additional support from government and other sources, and promote best practices on common issues and collective challenges facing legal aid organizations.

The CBF looks at issues like the organization’s leadership, its management and governance practices, the strength of its attorney and non-attorney staff, its strategic plan, and how the organization fits into the broader pro bono and legal aid system. For special projects and initiatives, the CBF also looks at additional factors such as whether the organization is well suited to carry out the particular project and whether it is coordinating with other relevant stakeholders.

More information on the CBF’s grant process and recent grants can be found by visiting the Grants section of the CBF website.

Can I designate my Campaign contribution to support a particular organization?

We cannot designate your contribution to an individual program. However, all of the major pro bono and legal aid organizations serving the Chicago area will directly benefit from your contribution. The Campaign’s overarching goal is to move the entire pro bono and legal aid system forward by focusing on the common needs and collective challenges facing all of these organizations, and we can best achieve that goal by harnessing the combined force created by the legal community coming together around this issue.

While all of the pro bono and legal aid organizations serving our community benefit from the Campaign, it is critical for lawyers, law firms and corporations to continue to do pro bono work and provide financial support to the individual legal aid organizations they work with as partners. View the list of our Current Grantees to learn more about the many outstanding pro bono and legal aid organizations serving the Chicago area and how you can contribute to them directly. For more information on how you can get involved in pro bono work, please visit our Pro Bono section.

What other things does the CBF do to increase the impact of its grants?

In addition to grants, the CBF’s broader efforts to ensure access to justice include championing pro bono work and related access to justice initiatives in the legal community; advocating for sufficient government funding for legal aid and promoting broader community support; helping dedicated attorneys pursue careers in legal aid; working with the courts to make the justice system more user-friendly and accessible; and advancing best practices in the legal aid community on issues like management, governance and coordination with other providers. For more information on the CBF’s comprehensive access to justice efforts, visit the About the CBF section.

What about improving legal aid salaries—wasn’t that the original focus of the Campaign?

Yes, for the inaugural Investing in Justice Campaign in 2007 the CBF decided to focus exclusively on a growing crisis identified by a groundbreaking study released in late 2006—the inadequate compensation for our community’s legal aid attorneys that was causing increasing numbers of these dedicated lawyers to abandon legal aid careers due to financial pressures. The study, which was conducted by the CBF and the Illinois Coalition for Equal Justice, found that the combination of inadequate legal aid salaries and skyrocketing law school debt increasingly was making it economically untenable for attorneys to pursue, and remain in, careers in legal aid. The findings of the study underscored that addressing this growing crisis was the most immediate priority to achieve the Campaign’s longer-term goal of building the capacity of our pro bono and legal aid system when we launched the inaugural Campaign in 2007

How has the Campaign made an impact on the salary issue?

The funds raised in the inaugural Campaign were a critical down payment on the longer-term work necessary to enable dedicated attorneys to commit to, and remain in, legal aid careers, and the funds raised in subsequent years of the Campaign helped sustain that effort while also advancing the interconnected goals of strengthening our community’s pro bono and legal aid organizations and making our justice system more user-friendly and accessible for those in need.

The inaugural Campaign and the special CBF grant process delivered the jolt needed to head off the legal aid salary crisis. The CBF used 100% of the $900,000+ raised in the first year of the Campaign for a special grant process that gave every legal aid attorney an immediate and meaningful salary increase and jump started a comprehensive program to bring legal aid salaries up to par with their public service peers.

Since all of the major pro bono and legal aid organizations in Chicago have committed to longer-term plans to increase their salaries to the levels of comparable public service positions, the key going forward is to help give these organizations the means to do that, both through the Campaign and through other sources. Helping these organizations meet their long term salary plans will remain a priority in the CBF’s grants program, advocacy and other work for as long as necessary and is particularly important in this challenging funding climate. The funds raised in the Campaign will allow us to continue to do our part in this effort. The CBF will use our grants program to ensure that the salary issue remains a priority and that non-financial issues impacting legal aid attorney retention identified in the study continue to be addressed.

Will I receive an acknowledgement of my contribution?

Yes, every contribution to the Campaign makes a big difference and will be formally acknowledged by the CBF. Those of you making online contributions also will receive an electronic acknowledgement right away. Because thousands of people make contributions to the Campaign in a span of just a few weeks and we don’t always receive notification of the contributions until even later, please note that it may be well into April or May before we are able to send you a formal thank you note and receipt. We have a small staff at the CBF and it does logistically take some time and effort to properly track and acknowledge all of the generous contributions we receive in the Campaign. We appreciate your patience, and please do not hesitate to contact us if for some reason you need that acknowledgement before we’re able to get it to you.

Is my contribution tax-deductible?

Yes, your contribution to the Campaign is a tax-deductible charitable contribution.

Does my contribution count as a qualifying contribution when I’m filling out my ARDC registration form?

Yes, you can include your Campaign contribution when you are filling out your annual ARDC registration form under Supreme Court Rule 756(f).

Where can I find out more about the Campaign?

For more information, contact Bob Glaves (312-554-1205 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) or David Gee (312-554-1209 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) at The Chicago Bar Foundation.