Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation - Southern Regional Office
Old National Bank Building
509 South University Avenue
3rd Floor Carbondale, IL 62901| View map

Toll-free: 877-342-7891
Languages: English, French, Polish, Russian, Vietnamese, German, Italian, Japanese, Chinese/Mandarin, Spanish, American Sign Language, Tribal Languages, Korean, Cambodian, French Creole, Laotian, Urdu, Farsi, Arabic

We provide free legal help to low-income people in 65 counties in central and southern Illinois. We have five regional offices in Alton, Carbondale, Champaign, East St. Louis, and Springfield. We also have three satellite offices in Decatur, Charleston, and Mt. Vernon. We have a telephone intake, advice and referral center, the Legal Advice and Referral Center, which serves all 65 counties.

Our lawyers may be able to help you with:

• Housing: evictions, foreclosures, lock-outs, utility shut-offs, contract for deed problems or trouble getting the landlord or housing authority to make repairs.
• Family - cases for victims of domestic violence, such as orders of protection and divorce; custody cases when the parent who has been child's caretaker is in danger of losing custody; and some divorces. In some areas, we offer self-help clinics on divorce.
• Consumer - debt collection, repossession, garnishments, home improvement problems, and consumer fraud.
• Public Benefits and Health - TANF, SSI, General Assistance, Food Stamps, or Medicaid.
• Other Services for Senior Citizens and Disabled Persons - Wills and powers of attorney for persons age 60 and over and persons who are HIV positive. Nursing home quality of care issues. (in some counties)
• Education - cases for children with disabilities and for wards of DCFS.

Clients may be eligible for free legal assistance if they are low income or age 60 or over.

This office has a satellite location at 1004 Main Street, Mt. Vernon, IL 62864.

The Immigration Project
510 E Washington St., Ste 318
PO Box 3065 Bloomington, IL 617023065| View map
Phone: 309-829-8703
Toll-free: 800-298-3235
Languages: English, Spanish
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The Immigration Project is a not-for-profit organization consisting of three lawyers, two accredited specialists, a paralegal and one part-time support staff who desire to inform you of your immigration status and rights according to current law and your particular situation.  We offer a free initial 45-minute consultation where you can ask all your questions.  Whether or not we would take your case is a matter for discussion during that consultation. Our services for domestic violence are free of charge.  For Lawful Permanent Residents applying for citizenship, our services are free of charge in over 90% of the cases.  All other cases (family reunification, temporary protected status, renewals of work permits or green cards, etc.) are charged on a sliding scale fee according to the size and income of the family. 

We are based in Bloomington Illinois, but travel once a month to the Quad Cities, Kankakee, Peoria, and East St. Louis. We travel every other 2-3 months to LaSalle, Champaign, Beardstown, and Carbondale.  We also travel every 2-3 months to Galesburg and Arcola for Citizenship cases only.  We have traveled to other areas as the need or request demands.

It is necessary to arrange an appointment ahead of time.  Email is the quickest and most efficient way to get a reply.

feb.2009

Equip for Equality
20 N. Michigan Avenue
Suite 300 Chicago, IL 60602| View map
Phone: 800-537-2632
TTY: 800-610-2779
Toll-free: 800-537-2632
Languages: English, Spanish, American Sign Language
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The mission of Equip for Equality is to advance the human and civil rights of children and adults with physical and mental disabilities in Illinois.  Equip for Equality serves people who have:

• a developmental disability such as autism, cerebral palsy and mental retardation.
• a significant psychiatric disability such as depression, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and schizophrenia (we give priority to individuals at risk for abuse due to seclusion, restraint, and any related serious injuries or fatalities, neglect, or civil rights violations, while residing in residential facilities).
• a disability as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act other than one that is developmental or psychiatric such as blindness, deafness or hard of hearing, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, paraplegia, quadriplegia and multiple sclerosis.
• traumatic brain injuries (TBI).

Some of our work involves assistive technology needs, voting access and participation for individuals with disabilities, and vocational rehabilitation services, employment services, and other support services for Social Security beneficiaries with disabilities.

How to Request Services

People seeking assistance should call (800) 537-2632 on Monday, Wednesday, or Friday between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. We accept limited calls on Tuesday and Thursday from individuals in institutions (usually when they are emergencies only).

Lambda Legal Midwest Regional Office
11 E. Adams St.
Suite 1008 Chicago, IL 60603| View map
Phone: 312-663-4413
Languages: English, Spanish
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Lambda Legal is committed to achieving full recognition of the civil right of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and those with HIV.  The Midwest Regional Office has three attorneys devoted to sexual orientation, gender identity, and HIV/AIDS issues.

Lambda's Legal Help Desk responds directly to members of our communit(ies) who are seeking legal information and assistance with discrimination related to sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and HIV status. 

The Midwest Regional Office accepts Help Desk calls at any time during business hours (M-F 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.). Call 312-663-4413, ask for the Help Desk, and a Help Desk staff person will assist you. If Help Desk staff is busy helping other callers, your call will automatically be routed to the Legal Help Desk voicemail.

Latinos Progresando
3047 W. Cermak Road
Second Floor Chicago, IL 60623| View map
Phone: (773) 542-7077
Languages: English, Spanish

Based in Chicago’s Pilsen and Little Village neighborhoods—together home to the second largest Mexican population in the country—Latinos Progresando is a nonprofit organization that works with immigrants and their families to build stronger and healthier communities.

Latinos Progresando serves immigrants by providing the highest quality services at low cost: legal services, youth programs, and community forums are all part of our vision to build stronger and healthier families and communities.

Our Immigration Legal Service Program is accredited by the Board of Immigration Appeals, the nation's highest immigration court, and is listed as a referral agency for the local office of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Our agency's reputation for high-quality service draw clients from as far away as Waukegan, Bolingbrook, and Indiana.

Family Services
Our Immigration Legal Services program helps reunite. In FY08, we served over 1,400 clients and their families. We provide informational consultations and responsible referrals so clients are aware of the immigration process, including both their responsibilities and the benefits available to them.

Violence Against Women Act Program
Our VAWA program assists immigrant survivors of domestic violence – at little to no cost -- in separating from abusive family members without losing their eligibility for immigration benefits. The VAWA program was launched in 1991. It is named after the federal Violence Against Women Act, which allows battered immigrants to leave their abusers while maintaining eligibility for legal status.

Our office is open:

Tue-Fri: 9am - 6pm
Sat: 9am - 3pm

Our consultation hours are:

Wed-Thu: 9am - 5pm
Sat: 9am - 1pm

All Legal Services staff is bilingual in English and Spanish.

Midwest Center on Law & the Deaf
P.O. Box 804297 Chicago, IL 60680| View map
Phone: 800-894-3653
TTY: 800-894-3654
Languages: English, American Sign Language
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MCLD provides information to the general public on the rights of deaf and hard-of-hearing people, and helps deaf and hard of hearing people find attorneys willing to provide accessible legal services.  If you or a deaf or hard-of-hearing person you know needs a lawyer, please call MCLD to help you find one.

Farmworker Advocacy Project
100 W. Monroe
Floor 18 Chicago, IL 60603| View map
Phone: 312-784-3522
Languages: English, Spanish
Send email

The Farmworker Advocacy Project provides legal representation to the thousands of migrant and seasonal farmworkers who work planting and harvesting crops, detasseling corn, and cultivating nursery products. The vast majority of these migrants are Spanish speakers who migrate to Illinois from Texas or Mexico for 6-9 months. The primary focus is on migrants living in Northern Illinois. The FAP represents farmworkers, regardless of their immigration status, in disputes over wages, working conditions, housing, and field sanitation. We assist migrant workers to obtain tax credits, Social Security earnings records, and emergency Food Stamps. We also advise migrant workers who are eligible to naturalize.

Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)-Chicago
28 East Jackson Boulevard
Suite 1410 Chicago, IL 60604| View map
Phone: 312-212-1520
Languages: English

CAIR-Chicago is a local chapter of the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights organization. The organization’s mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding. CAIR-Chicago’s Civil Rights Department counsels, mediates and advocates on behalf of Muslims and others who have experienced religious discrimination, defamation, or hate crimes.

If you feel you have been the victim of any form of discrimination because you are Muslim, or because you were mistaken to be Muslim, please contact CAIR-Chicago at 312-212-1520 to see how we can help.

Illinois Coalition for Immigrant & Refugee Rights
55 E. Jackson Blvd.
Suite 2075 Chicago, IL 60604| View map
Phone: 312-332-7360
Languages: English, Spanish
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ICIRR is dedicated to promote the rights of immigrants and refugees to full and equal participation in the civic, cultural, social, and political life of our diverse society. In partnership with our member organizations, the Coalition educates and organizes immigrant and refugee communities to assert their rights; promotes citizenship and civic participation; monitors, analyzes, and advocates on immigrant-related issues; and, informs the general public about the contributions of immigrants and refugees.

Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois Lawyer Referral Service
321 South Plymouth Court Chicago, IL 60604| View map
Phone: 312-554-2045
Languages: English, Spanish
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Our 24-hour answering service provides referrals to private English/Spanish-speaking attorneys with experience in every area of the law.  Please call 312-554-2045.

IllinoisLawyerFinder.com
Illinois State Bar Association
424 South Second Street Springfield, IL 62701| View map
Phone: 217-525-5297 (LAWS)
Toll-free: 800-922-8757
Languages: English
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Illinois Lawyer Finder is the Illinois State Bar Association's lawyer directory. This online referral service is designed to serve everyone who can afford the services of a lawyer. If you prefer a telephone referral please call Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. We charge no referral fee, and our operators can put you in touch with a lawyer in your area who has agreed to provide an initial consultation for no more than $15 for the first half-hour.