Illinois Legal Aid Online (ILAO) starts as "Illinois Technology Center for Law and the Public Interest" with Chicago-Kent College of Law as its fiscal sponsor.
55% of American Adults use the internet.
56% of U.S. Households own a computer.
6 months later, AppleⓇ releases the iPodⓇ; one month after the iPod launch, September 11 changes America irrevocably.
The year after launching the first full iterations of IllinoisLegalAid.org, IllinoisProbono.org, and IllinoisLegalAdvocate.org, the websites log 297,000 visits.
SkypeⓇ launches its service.
The iTunesⓇ Music Store opens for business.
ILAO, as a newly independent non-profit, launches the IllinoisLegalAid.org version that served as ILAO's primary website for 10 years; it featured a smart search and a library of GuideMe modules that have been a model for other states.
68% of American Adults use the internet.
ILAO’s websites log 583,000 visits.
Google launches mapping services, an internet phone program, and an effort to digitize books from some of the world’s largest libraries.
ILAO wins the first Technology Leadership Award presented by Accenture and Lumity for www.IllinoisLegalAid.org.
Nintendo Wii and XBox 360 launch.
FacebookⓇ opens to anyone over the age of 13.
ILAO partners with the Illinois Coalition for Equal Justice (ICEJ) to establish technology- based legal self-help centers in county courthouses and public libraries across Illinois.
ILAO begins its Easy Forms service, developing a library of free automated document interviews that now generate 120,000+ personalized legal documents per year.
The iPhoneⓇ is released in June, bringing about the smartphone revolution.
Illinois Senator Barack Obama announces his bid for the U.S. Presidency.
ILAO's websites log over one million visits.
74% of U.S. adults own a computer or laptop.
44% of Americans own a smartphone.
Blockchain goes live, supports the launch of Bitcoin.
Tesla releases its first electric car.
ILAO launched its LiveHelp chat program. Through 2022, LiveHelp volunteer operators chatted with 120,000+ people seeking answers to legal questions.
82% of Americans own cell phones.
Americans send 1.56 billion text messages.
In November, WhatsAppⓇ launches.
ILAO receives the ABA Louis M. Brown Award for Legal Access and the Paul H. Chapman Award for significant contribution to the improvement of access to justice in America.
In October, InstagramⓇ starts its social media app.
The Subprime mortgage crisis peaks with 2.9 million foreclosures nationwide.
ILAO launches a Spanish-language website AyudaLegalIL.org, mirroring ILAO's English version. ILAO’s Spanish-language legal services remain among the most robust in the country.
83% of American Adults use the internet.
88% of Americans own a cell phone.
ILAO and ICEJ support Legal Self-Help Centers in 98 of Illinois' 102 counties. ILAO's LiveHelp program receives LivePerson's Connection Award.
ILAO receives the Innovation Award from Law Technology News (LTN) for outstanding achievement in integrating technology into legal work for its Get Legal Help tool, which continues to be one of the most robust triage and intake systems for legal services in the nation.
70% of American Adults have home broadband.
58% of U.S. Adults own smartphones.
Ring doorbell gets introduced on Shark Tank.
Zoom is released.
On January 1, the Illinois Criminal Identification Act takes effect, significantly expanding the types of convictions that can be sealed; ILAO’s criminal records tools see an 82% increase in 2015-2016.
Two-thirds (66%) of U.S. Adults own a smartphone.
Americans send 1.98 billion text messages.
Hoverboard scooters are all the rage.
ILAO unveils a new logo and the new IllinoisLegalAid.org, consolidating 5 websites into a single, mobile-friendly portal and migrating its platform from a dying technology (ColdFusion) to a vibrant, global one (Drupal).
73% of U.S. Adults own a smartphone.
88% of American Adults use the internet.
The cash-exchange app VenmoⓇ hits the big time.
IllinoisLegalAid.org is featured as the ‘best in show’ by the ABAJournal.
ILAO’s new Crime Victim Portal wins Best in Show award for the Chicago Bar Association's Legal Tech Innovator Showcase.
Nintendo SwitchⓇ is released.
2.99 million people use IllinoisLegalAid.org to find solutions to their legal problems, such as divorce, deportation, worker's rights, and disability rights.
90% of American Adults use the internet.
100% of American Adults age 18-29 use the internet.
96% of Americans own a cell phone.
Americans send 2.1 billion text messages.
1.52 billion smartphones are sold in U.S.
In March, the pandemic hits Illinois. In the weeks and months following the Governor's shelter-in-place order, Illinois use of ILAO's services increases 41%; use of ILAO's Spanish services increases 64%.
Use of ILAO's unemployment resources surges 1100% in the first 6 weeks of the shutdown.
63% of Illinois users find ILAO via mobile, 1.34 million people.
79% of Spanish-language users find ILAO on their mobile, nearly 400,000 people.
ILAO ends its year-long, 20th Anniversary Celebration on March 7.
ILAO served people from 90% of Illinois' residential zip codes.
ILAO completes an 8-month strategic planning process, its most comprehensive to date.
Over 96,000 international migrants arrive in the Chicago area.
ILAO partners with The Resurrection Project to streamline pro bono immigration assistance by automating forms and reducing intake time by 45 minutes per family served.
Aligned with its strategic plan to co-design with community members, ILAO completes its first stakeholder project with the Older Homeowners Group.
OpenAI releases GPT-5, giving users the ability to write their own software programs.
ILAO launches its 'Ask ILAO' tool on IllinoisLegalAid.org, a closed-system chatbot leveraging large-language-model technology to offer answers to legal questions.
In November, ILAO releases the beta version of Debt Help Illinois, a first-of-its-kind legal service for consumers facing debt obstacles.
On March 8, ILAO launches its year-long 25th Anniversary celebration.
On September 9, in honor of its 25th Anniversary, ILAO kicks off its Alumni Network, connecting ILAO's past and present with a focus on the future.
In October, ILAO begins a 9-month strategic planning process to set its direction for the next 5 years.