Justice For All? Illinois' Poor, Disadvantaged Struggle To Find Legal Help
From the Southern Illinoisan
Michael A. Fiello manages a Carbondale legal aid office of eight attorneys, including him, for 23 Southern Illinois counties.
They handle about 1,600 cases a year on behalf of the poor – mostly for free – but do get help from other pro bono attorneys who work outside Fiello's not-for-profit Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation Inc.
Some outside attorneys do get compensated through a Foundation program, but at a reduced rate, and many others take on their own pro bono cases.
For most people, Foundation services are free, eligible if their household income is at or below 125 percent of federal poverty level guidelines, Fiello said. Cases are limited to specific types, dictated by federal funding, so cases such as personal injury lawsuits are not covered.
Custody, public benefits, bankruptcy, consumer and housing are some areas Foundation lawyers do handle.
Yet, even with those resources, many more people are not getting the help they need to address their grievances. Recent research on legal aid in Illinois shows fewer than 20 percent of those who need help are getting it because of inadequate funding and limited time, Fiello said. Many times his office has to say “no” to cases.
“It would be fair to say that even if you take into account all of those things, the demand far outstrips what we have to offer,” said Fiello, a 30-year Foundation veteran. “It’s not just Illinois. I think it would be fair to say that in every state and territory in the United States, legal services programs are stretched thin.”
However, when it comes to access to the court system for the poor, the disabled and other disadvantaged people, Illinois does not fare well compared to other states, according to a national ranking released this year.
The state placed 49th in the country in the Justice Index, compiled by the National Center for Access to Justice at the Cardozo Law School in New York City. Trailing the state were Kentucky then Oklahoma. Washington, D.C., received the top score while Connecticut placed second.
Read more in our daily News Update...
From the Southern Illinoisan
Michael A. Fiello manages a Carbondale legal aid office of eight attorneys, including him, for 23 Southern Illinois counties.
They handle about 1,600 cases a year on behalf of the poor – mostly for free – but do get help from other pro bono attorneys who work outside Fiello's not-for-profit Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation Inc.
Some outside attorneys do get compensated through a Foundation program, but at a reduced rate, and many others take on their own pro bono cases.
For most people, Foundation services are free, eligible if their household income is at or below 125 percent of federal poverty level guidelines, Fiello said. Cases are limited to specific types, dictated by federal funding, so cases such as personal injury lawsuits are not covered.
Custody, public benefits, bankruptcy, consumer and housing are some areas Foundation lawyers do handle.
Yet, even with those resources, many more people are not getting the help they need to address their grievances. Recent research on legal aid in Illinois shows fewer than 20 percent of those who need help are getting it because of inadequate funding and limited time, Fiello said. Many times his office has to say “no” to cases.
“It would be fair to say that even if you take into account all of those things, the demand far outstrips what we have to offer,” said Fiello, a 30-year Foundation veteran. “It’s not just Illinois. I think it would be fair to say that in every state and territory in the United States, legal services programs are stretched thin.”
However, when it comes to access to the court system for the poor, the disabled and other disadvantaged people, Illinois does not fare well compared to other states, according to a national ranking released this year.
The state placed 49th in the country in the Justice Index, compiled by the National Center for Access to Justice at the Cardozo Law School in New York City. Trailing the state were Kentucky then Oklahoma. Washington, D.C., received the top score while Connecticut placed second.
Read more in our daily News Update...