It’s hard to believe we’re already in the third quarter of 2025! We’ve closed more than 2,750 eviction cases this year, putting us on pace to, once again, serve more renters than at any point in our history. This feat would not have been possible without the tremendous efforts of our founders whose vision laid the path for our work 45 years ago.
In 1980, recently elected 49th Ward Alderman, David Orr, organized a group of 10 volunteer attorneys to demand repairs for rampant conditions issues in 10 apartment buildings in Rogers Park. It was through their work that the Lawyers’ Committee for Better Housing, now known as the Law Center for Better Housing, was born.
Our founders quickly realized having an attorney could make all the difference for the renters facing these issues, who, with their support, were seeing their apartment conditions improve. Building on this success, LCBH continued to grow, eventually receiving its first grant through the Amoco Foundation; hiring Executive Director, Jack Kaplan, and Staff Attorney, Barbara Grau; and securing a store front in the lower level of David’s aldermanic office. Throughout this work, David’s support of LCBH remained steadfast and his advocacy for housing justice continued long into his political career in the ‘90s and early 2000s.
When Barbara was hired, she described being LCBH’s Legal Director as her “dream job” and fought ardently for renters her entire career, sometimes taking seemingly unwinnable cases to help improve renters’ housing stability. LCBH honors Barbara’s commitment to renters with the Barbara Grau Housing Advocate Award, which recognizes her and other lifelong housing heroes. This year, at our 2025 Fall Benefit on October 9th, we’re proud to present the Grau award to David Orr, whose vision remains a guidepost for me and our organization 45 years later. You can learn more about David and secure your tickets for the benefit here.
Today, though we’re now headquartered in the Loop and our staff has grown to nearly 50, what David and LCBH’s staff learned in 1980 still rings true – renters have better outcomes with an attorney by their side. That’s why, amid budget uncertainty, LCBH needs your support to continue their tremendous work 45 years later.
Beginning in 2022, LCBH took the lead in the City of Chicago Right to Counsel Pilot Project, which provides eligible renters with extended representation if a settlement cannot be reached in the Early Resolution Program. Alongside our partners, our attorneys have helped 3,600 renters across every Chicago ward achieve their housing goals, assert their rights, and resolve complex housing disputes inside eviction court.
According to an independent study of the pilot, among clients whose stated goal was to avoid eviction, 92% avoided a formal eviction judgment. Of those clients who agreed to move out, 75% secured more than 30 days to vacate. These outcomes would be impossible to achieve without the assistance of a skilled legal aid attorney.
With the three-year pilot nearly complete, the future funding for this life-changing initiative remains uncertain. We need you to call upon your Alderperson to sustain funding for Right to Counsel in the 2026 budget, so we can continue providing high-quality services for renters for years to come.
You can use this tool to look up your Alderperson. Click here to access our RTC fact sheet and script.