Legal aid for poor needs funding boost

I recently testified at Speaker Madigan's budget hearing in Northbrook about the urgent need to increase state funding for legal aid to help meet the civil legal needs of low-income families in Chicago and throughout Illinois.

Access to legal aid helps build stronger and more stable families and communities.

For families who have lost their homes as a result of mortgage fraud, victims of domestic violence and disabled individuals struggling to obtain needed benefits - legal aid is a lifeline.

The Illinois Equal Justice Foundation (IEJF) receives and distributes state funds to civil legal aid providers across the state. Chicago Volunteer Legal Services uses some of those funds to represent our most vulnerable neighbors -- children and families in danger of losing their homes to foreclosure.

Overall, legal aid providers use IEJF funds to help more than 98,000 lower-income residents resolve their legal problems.

Last year, Gov. Blagojevich vetoed an increase in the state appropriation for legal aid to $5 million and this year has kept funding for the IEJF flat at the $3.5 million level. A coalition of state leaders is calling on legislators to support Senate Bill 3028 to increase the appropriation to $5 million.

We are already doing this work on a shoestring. Of the 10 most populous states, the average appropriation for legal aid is $10.5 million. Illinois spends just one third of that.

The state has a responsibility to make sure the justice system is accessible to everyone who needs it.

Please support the increased appropriation to the IEJF and help ensure that "justice for all" is not just a slogan, but a reality in Illinois.

For more information, please visit www.EqualJusticeIllinois.org.

Margaret Benson

Executive Director

Chicago Volunteer Legal Services