LCBH News

Welcome to LCBH’s Blog. Our blog delivers original articles written by our staff, interns and volunteers. We strive to provide informative stories about the work we do on behalf of Chicago renters and the issues renters face.

Dan Parrish – Summer Associate in the Spotlight

November 12, 2013 posted in LCBH News, Pro Bono

Most people think of summer as a time for picnics, pools, and popsicles. For some of our dedicated volunteers, however, summertime meant pro bono time!

LCBH paired up with two different law firms over the summer to create pro bono opportunities for summer associate law students. Summer associates from Brinks Gilson & Lione and Jones Day worked with senior associates and partners within their firms to handle cases screened and supervised by an LCBH staff attorney. Each summer associate was able to work directly with clients to help resolve difficult housing situations through negotiation, motion writing, and their first court appearances.

We’d like to share one story that had a particularly wonderful outcome. A team of pro bono attorneys from Brinks Gilson & Lione represented June and her five children in an eviction court case. June and her family had lived in their apartment building, subsidized by the Chicago Housing Authority, for several years. The family had never had any serious problems with management, and June liked the apartment’s proximity to her children’s school. However, in the early summer everything changed when June received an eviction notice from her landlord. The notice accused June of (1) allowing a friend to stay overnight in the apartment for three days, (2) propping open the back door of the building, and (3) damaging the gate to the building.

LCBH Receives a Significant Grant to Support Renters Affected by Foreclosure

October 16, 2013 posted in LCBH News

LCBH President Tony Hopp, IL Attorney General Lisa Madigan and LCBH Executive Director Cheryl Lawrence

In response to a growing need for legal aid to renters in foreclosure throughout Illinois, AG Madigan announced a significant grant, as part of the Illinois foreclosure settlement for LCBH to sustain and expand the foreclosure work that started in 2008 and continues to affect thousands of renters each year. This grant will increase staff by 3 attorneys, and 3 support staff to greatly expand the services and state-wide impact of LCBH’s Tenants in Foreclosure Project.

At the LCBH Annual Reception and Awards Ceremony, held on Sept. 27th at Jenner & Block, AG Madigan’s keynote speech gave a visceral narrative of the realities that Illinois renters face in a foreclosure crisis.

“When a building enters into foreclosure, its tenants are often thrown into a kind of legal limbo where their rights are either ignored or they are even overtly violated. Consequently, in recent years huge numbers of low income tenants have had their utilities shut off, they’ve received improper eviction notices if receiving them at all, or they have come home and they’ve simply been locked out of their homes. And when this happens, many of those people are able to turn to LCBH for help. LCBH not only helps them understand and enforce their full rights under the law, you also help displaced tenants find new housing and you work with buildings and new owners to preserve affordable units”.

E-Filing in Cook County

September 15, 2013 posted in LCBH News

Other jurisdictions have been e-filing for years, and it has finally come to the Cook County Civil Division! E-Filing allows attorneys and pro se litigants to file documents with the Circuit Court online instead of having to go in-person to the clerk’s office. Among the many advantages of e-filing, users can file documents any time of the day, even during weekends and holidays. Users can also schedule motions through the e-filing service and pay court fees by credit card.

E-filing’s major disadvantage is that users are charged a vendor fee for each transaction, including filings for which the clerk does not collect a fee. These charges are prohibitive for most legal aid agencies, including LCBH, to fully utilize this service.

E-filing, if it ever becomes financially viable for legal aid agencies or provides fee waivers for low-income litigants, has the potential to substantially increase capacity for organizations with limited support staff. Instead of sending attorneys and paralegals to wait in line for 30-45 minutes every day, filing can be done with the click of a mouse, saving time and increasing efficiency.

Intern Spotlight: Michael Griffin

September 15, 2013 posted in LCBH News, Interns

Michael (center) pictured with staff attorneys Frank Avellone (left) and Noah Magaram (right)

Michael Griffin is a third-year law student at Chicago-Kent College of Law. Looking for litigation experience, Michael found LCBH’s internship posting on the Illinois Legal Aid Online website (http://www.illinoislegalaidonline.org/). As a long-time Chicago renter, he had an interest in landlord-tenant law and thought it would be a good fit. We did too, and Michael joined our team of legal interns in the fall of 2012.

“When I started, I really didn’t know the difference between a motion and a pleading,” recounts Michael. However, Michael was given real cases immediately and was drafting both motions and pleadings within a few weeks. He was encouraged to dive into assignments, learn the procedural and substantive laws, and confer with senior LCBH attorneys who could assist with creating a better work product.

“I really appreciate that I’ve gotten such great practical experience,” said Michael, who recently won his first jury trial (see story this issue). “A lot of attorneys never set foot in a court room, let alone chair and win a jury trial.” LCBH staff attorney Noah Magaram supported Michael’s interests and was soon sending him cases that had jury potential for preparation.

Two New State Laws

May Improve the Lives of Illinois Renters

September 15, 2013 posted in LCBH News

Governor Quinn with LCBH staff at bill signing

Governor Pat Quinn recently signed two important pieces of legislation into law. Both bills have the potential to dramatically improve outcomes for LCBH clients.

The Access to Justice Act was signed Thursday, August 15 and the Protecting Tenants in Foreclosure bill was signed Wednesday, August 21.

Access to Justice Act

On Thursday, August 15, Governor Quinn signed the Access to Justice Act which will increase access to justice for all Illinoisans. The new law establishes two pilot projects: one creating a statewide military personnel and veterans’ legal assistance hotline and a program to provide court-based legal assistance within a circuit court in each of the five Appellate Court districts in the state.

“On behalf of the Illinois Supreme Court, I thank Governor Quinn and the General Assembly for enacting our proposal into law,” said Chief Justice Thomas L. Kilbride, who attended the signing ceremony. “This law will make the Illinois court system more accessible to veterans and active duty service members and will help citizens in all walks of life. Additionally, it provides funding for self-help centers in law libraries, creates a task force to review the statutory fees imposed on litigation and will establish a pilot project to test how best to provide legal representation in certain civil cases to those who can’t afford an attorney.”

Update: Court Decision Published

September 15, 2013 posted in LCBH News

A few months ago we told you about Ms. Foster’s victory in the court of appeals. The court’s decision re-affirmed long standing precedents, from the mid 1990’s, regarding when leases survive a transfer of property during foreclosure. LCBH filed a successful motion with the court of appeals requesting that it publish this important decision. While the mortgage company opposed the publication, the court approved LCBH’s motion and the decision was published on June 28, 2013 as “Fifth Third Mortgage Company v. Foster, 2013 IL App (1st) 121361” and may now be used as authority (precedent) in other court cases around the state. It is available on the State of Illinois website (http://www.state.il.us/court/Opinions/AppellateCourt/2013/1stDistrict/11...). LCBH would like to thank Ms. Foster for her incredible tenacity as well as staff attorney Frank Avellone and law student Michael Griffin for all their hard work on this case.

Fiesta del Sol

August 13, 2013 posted in LCBH News

LCBH staff were on hand at Fiesta del Sol to provide information and resources to renters.

The 4-day festival which ran July 25-28 featured a Housing Resources Pavilion coordinated by Erie Neighborhood House.

Everyone had a great time and we were able to talk to a lot of folks about the work we do.

Supportive Services Summer 2013 Interns

July 16, 2013 posted in Supportive Services, LCBH News, Interns

This summer LCBH’s Supportive Services program is very fortunate to have two new, and two returning interns to help us out.
- Anais Cotillas
- Grace Pai
- Loretta Maestranzi
- Evelyn Buehler
Welcome to all four of you, everyone at LCBH hopes you enjoy your summer with us.

University of Chicago – Summer Links

July 16, 2013 posted in Supportive Services, LCBH News

This summer, LCBH is hosting its first student from the University of Chicago’s Summer Links program. This is another addition to the growing list of schools and programs that are sending students to LCBH to learn about Chicago’s housing issues and get real-world experience working with clients who are at high risk of homelessness without legal and supportive service intervention. Summer Links is an intensive 10-week, paid internship program for 30 returning undergraduate and graduate students committed to public service, community building and social change. Started in 1997 and sponsored by the Dean of the College, Summer Links has placed over 450 students in substantive internships with more than 200 nonprofit and public sector organizations throughout the Chicago area.

Summer Links challenges students to go beyond the classroom to expand their definition of “readings” to include relationships, interactions, and observations; and to confront one another’s perspectives and experiences. Summer Links’ interns extend the classroom to the community, put theory into practice, and then become their peers’ link to the wider community of Chicago once they return to classes in the fall.

Foreclosure Report Released

June 11, 2013 posted in Foreclosure, LCBH News

LCBH releases the Tenants in Foreclosure Intervention Project 2012 report.

LCBH has been compiling foreclosure data since 2009, and found that in 2012 the City of Chicago experienced the smallest year-to-year decrease in apartment building foreclosure filings since the beginning of the foreclosure crisis. Not only did the foreclosure crisis recovery slow city-wide, but filings actually increased in Austin, Englewood and other neighborhoods already suffering some of the worst effects of the foreclosure crisis.

The 2012 report examines the impact of foreclosure on the Chicago rental market and renter households using LCBH’s most recent data and the results of renter surveys, and makes recommendations for renter advocacy in light of the new protections in Chicago. Conclusions drawn in this report are informed by data analysis, recent research, and direct testimonials from Chicago renters impacted by foreclosure.