Programs and results
What we aim to solve
For over 50 years, Legal Aid Chicago has provided high quality, free legal services to people living in poverty in Cook County.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Legal Aid Chicago
Legal Aid Chicago’s work is organized into practice groups, each dealing with a major area of poverty law. These groups include, but are not limited to: Children & Families, which helps survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault; relative caretakers, foster parents, and children in need of special education services; Consumer, which includes foreclosure defense, predatory lending, consumer fraud, a Low-Income Tax Clinic and bankruptcy; Housing, which handles public and subsidized housing eviction cases and fair housing; and Public Benefits, which encompasses applications for and denials of state, federal, and Veterans’ benefits, our Medical Legal Partnerships, our work with people living with HIV/AIDS, and our work with Veterans. Our lawyers, paralegals, and staff spend as long as it takes to favorably resolve our clients’ cases, and our clients are never charged for our legal services.
Where we work
External reviews
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of low-income families with increased financial stability
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
Legal Aid Chicago
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
All successful cases with financial impact outcomes (incl. food stamps, subsidized housing, Medicaid, et al.). 90% success rate. Total financial impact: $27 million. Average financial impact: $19,000.
Number of clients served
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
Legal Aid Chicago
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Total number of clients served in 2022.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
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; protect survivors of sexual assault, human trafficking, and domestic violence; secure or preserve desperately needed benefits such as veterans’ benefits, social security, or health benefits; assist senior citizens who have been swindled by consumer scams or robbed of their livelihoods through fraudulent consumer scams; and help 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.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Legal Aid Chicago provides free civil legal representation to residents of Chicago and Suburban Cook County (statewide for migrant and human trafficking) who have limited income or special legal needs in the following areas:
Family & Safety - Legal Aid Chicago focuses on cases where personal safety and financial stability are at risk.
Homes & Apartments - Legal Aid Chicago focuses on cases that protect safe and affordable housing for tenants and homeowners.
Money & Debt - Legal Aid Chicago focuses on cases that protect income and assets from unfair collections and fraud.
Work & Employment Rights - Legal Aid Chicago focuses on protecting the rights and benefits of workers and reducing barriers to employment.
Health, Disability, and Basic Needs - Legal Aid Chicago focuses on accessing and protecting benefits for basic human needs, including Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Medical Assistance (Medicaid, Medicare), and more.
Immigration - Legal Aid Chicago focuses on obtaining protected status for victims of crime, including U-visa, VAWA (for victims of domestic violence), and T-visa (for victims of human trafficking).
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Legal Aid Chicago has a dedicated Volunteer Services Unit that spends its time hosting clinics and bringing legal information and tools to people around Cook County. Legal Aid Chicago has a centralized Client Screening Unit that provides fair and culturally competent access to people who need legal help. Through litigation and advocacy, our 230-person team of full-time lawyers, paralegals, and staff fight to secure individual rights to affordable housing, basic healthcare, fair working conditions, protection from abuse, and economic stability.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
In 2022, Legal Aid Chicago assisted over 22,000 clients and immediate family members. The total financial impact of our services grew from $18 million in 2018 to $27 million in 2022. This included increased assets, income, and reduced debt for our clients. The average impact per client was $19,000.
LAC staff helped over 1,120 people avoid homelessness, helped over 350 clients gain access to education or work opportunities, and improved the health and safety of over 700 clients.
Clients represented by Legal Aid Chicago's Housing Practice Group remained in their homes over 90% of the time. The overall success rate of Legal Aid's client cases is 95%.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
-
How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
-
Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible
-
What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time
Financials
Unlock nonprofit financial insights that will help you make more informed decisions. Try our monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights?
Learn more
about GuideStar Pro.
Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Legal Aid Chicago
Board of directorsas of 08/10/2023
Robert Kriss
Mayer Brown
Holly Snow
Paul Hastings LLP
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
-
Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Not applicable -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Not applicable -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
No data
Transgender Identity
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 07/05/2023GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.