You belong here. Join us to celebrate 25 years of access in action! 
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 Illinois Coalition for Equal Justice (ICEJ) to develop and establish technology- based legal self-help centers in county courthouses and public libraries across Illinois
ILAO hires its first Easy Forms manager to build out a library of automated document interviews, which now generates 80,000 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 to help users find what they need to seek justice. This program continues today - a team of 50+ volunteers help more than 100 website users per day find answers and tools they seek to exercise their legal rights
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 continue to be some of the most robust found anywhere in the country.
83% of American Adults use the internet
88% of Americans own a cell phone
ILAO and ICEJ now support Legal Self-Help Centers in 98 of Illinois' 102 counties. ILAO's LiveHelp program receives LivePerson's Connection Award.
ILAO received the Innovation Award in the Pro Bono category for outstanding achievement in integrating technology into legal work to help lawyers deliver services to clients. The system is now a part of ILAO's Get Legal Help tool, 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, over the prior period.
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% (compared to the prior period).
Use of ILAO's LiveHelp (chat) service doubles once COVID hits Illinois; LiveHelp serves an average of 100 people per day, guiding people to the most relevant answers to their legal questions.
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 yet.
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.
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 initial version of Debt Help Illinois, a first-of-its-kind legal service for consumers facing debt obstacles.