Page Updated: October 08, 2002

Prairie State in the News

The Sunday Journal, September 23, 2001
By Heather Strous, Journal writer

News and Articles About Prairie State
and Legal Services

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 Rock Island Office in the News (March 3, 2006)

Prairie State has a new Executive Director (January 11, 2006)

State Farm Insurance and Prairie State Legal Services Honored for Corporate Pro Bono Project (Feb 26, 2004)

Getting Your Voice Heard (Aug 18, 2003)

State Supports Limited Legal Help (May 19, 2003)

Self-defenders Get a Friend of Court (Mar 9, 2003)

Domestic Violence Symposium March 24, PSLS co-sponsors (Mar 6, 2003)

Equal Justice Foundation Grants 2003 (Jan 9, 2003)

Access to Legal Aid Lowers Domestic Abuse (Jan 8, 2003)

Legal Services Role in the Decline in Domestic Violence (Dec 6, 2002)

Open Letter to KCBA Members (Dec 6, 2002)

Prairie State Rated as a 4-Star Charity (Nov 27, 2002)

Fund Cutbacks Shrink Legal Help for Poor (Nov. 20, 2002)

Volunteer Attorney Assists People in Need (Nov 9, 2002)

Prairie State Legal Services is There When You Need Them (Nov 2002)

Hesed House provides legal help (Oct. 14, 2002)

You Have Rights When Your Landlord Decides to Evict (Oct. 10, 2002)

Justice Kilbride Addresses 25th Anniversary Luncheon: Announces New Funding (Oct. 8, 2002)

Annual Fee to Rise $49; Legal Aid Gets Boost (Oct. 4, 2002)

Prairie State Helps Custodial Grandparents Face Hard Road (Sept. 29, 2002)

Legal Services Funds May be Cut (Sept. 8, 2002)

State Funding for Legal Aid Continued in FY 2003 (Aug. 14, 2002)

Free Legal Service on the Wane (Aug. 30, 2002)

Drop in Indigent 'Bad News' For Legal Aid Funding Here (July 30, 2002)

Franks Makes Legal Services to Disabled Possible In McHenry County (Apl. 2, 2002)

Prairie State wins cases for the poor

For the full-time attorneys of Prairie State Legal Services, practicing law is more of a calling rather than just a job.

Prairie State serves the low income communities of Kankakee, Iroquois, and Kendall Counties.

Managing Attorney Michael O'Connor and Lesley A. Walter handle some 1,200 to 1,400 civil cases per year.  The length of time for each can range from an hour of advice on the phone to 60 hours or more for cases that actually go to court. 

Prairie State is one of the agencies that benefits from the United Way of Kankakee County.

Prairie State also receives assistance from 30 pro bono attorneys who provide free legal assistance to the low-income community in Kankakee County, handling 100 or more cases per year.  Complex cases in specific areas of law are often referred to them.

The Pro Bono project is a joint venture sponsored by Prairie State and the Kankakee County Bar Association.

Prairie State handles civil suits only.  Criminal cases are turned over to public defenders.  Illinois law does not provide for attorneys in civil suits.

About half of all Prairie State’s cases include family law issues such as guardianship and the most common case: divorce.  Domestic violence cases are also a major priority.

One type of family law case growing in frequency of occurrence is that of grandparents trying to gain custody of grandchildren.  For the elderly (people age 60 or older), there’s a special grant for that purpose. 

"That’s (a population) we’re trying to reach out to," O’Connor said.

Housing disputes, including evictions and substandard housing, are frequently handled case types as well.

"This time of year we’ll run into lots of utility problems,"  O’Connor said.

 Overall, Prairie State has a high success rate for its clients.  From July 1, 2000 to June 30, 2001, of the 148 cases that actually went to court, 85 percent were won, 3 percent were lost, and 12 percent yielded mixed results.  (Mixed results mean that the client received some, but not all of what he/she wanted.)

Prairie State receives funding from a variety of sources, including the Legal Services Corporation (a federal program) and "little pots" such as Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts (Lawyers hold money for clients; interest is distributed to the lawyers.), United Way, donations, contracts, federal and state grants also help the firm stay afloat.

If you need help with a civil matter, call Prairie State.  A staff of attorneys screens potential clients to find out if they qualify as low income and if they have a problem the attorneys can handle.

"What we do, it has to be a civil case and present a pressing need," O’Connor said.

To qualify as low income, people have to be younger than 60, at or below 125 percent of the federal poverty line; for a house of four, that means making less than $1,839 per month.

For more information call Prairie State at 935-2750.

Copyright 2002 Prairie State Legal Services, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED