Illinois


Strategic Planning Grant: 2019

Using its JFA grant, the Illinois team of stakeholders will conduct a comprehensive and critical analysis of statewide resources and justice gaps in the state to develop a workable action plan for bridging the gap between legal needs and legal resources. This work will include updating and expanding asset maps to incorporate other resources and service providers; conducting focus groups in community areas throughout the state to bring user voice and perspective into the strategic planning process; and creating a detailed action plan designed to enhance the capacity of existing resources to minimize service gaps and remove barriers to accessing the legal system. This final step may include objectives such as cultivating a stronger network of on-the-ground partners across the state; building on successful court navigator and community partnership models to develop a formal community navigator model for use throughout the state; developing a statewide communications strategy; and/or identifying an under-resourced or uniquely challenging area of law to focus on new simplification efforts and systemic reform. 

Point person: Alison Spanner (Administrative Office of Illinois Courts)