Case Highlights - Changing the Lives of Clients

Grace's Story
Sam and Verline's Story
Irene's Story
Kristen's Story
Marie's Story
Mary's Story
Sarah's Story
Gary's Story
Fran's Story
Ghita's Story
Lisa's Story
Sandra's Story

During our 25 years, we have assisted many low-income and elderly residents of Northern Illinois. Most of them were faced with problems they could not solve on their own and which could have resulted in them being left in dire circumstances if it were not for the fine work of our dedicated staff. We believe it is important that you read the actual stories of these cases in order to get a better picture of the important services we provide. To read some of these stories click on the category of case you wish to read about in the table below. All of these stories have appeared on other pages, too.

Domestic Violence / Homelessness prevention

Homelessness Prevention                                                                  Back                 

When you are a disabled mother of three, the Section 8 voucher you have is the key to preventing homelessness for your family. Sandra knew how important it was to take care of her responsibilities in order to provide a decent place to live for her children. She paid her rent on time and kept her receipts. It is no surprise then that she was alarmed and confused when she received notice she was being sued for non-payment of rent.

About a month before Sandra received the notice her landlady requested the Housing Authority approve an increase in rent. The request was denied and the landlady was instructed to make repairs to a broken lock and window. The landlady was heard to say that she would be getting rid of her Section 8 tenants. The repairs were made, but the next time Sandra paid her rent, the landlady deducted from the rent the cost of repairs, declared the rent unpaid, assessed a late charge and issued a notice of termination of tenancy.

Sandra offered in writing to pay for the cost of the repairs and even made a partial payment toward them. She also requested a personal meeting. Her request was ignored and her landlord filed for eviction.

If you are evicted for cause, you can lose your Section 8 voucher. This could mean Sandra and her children would be left homeless. The Prairie State staff filed a motion to dismiss. Due to the strength of the argument, we were able to settle the case by terminating the lease, by Sandra only paying for the damage her family had done, and by Sandra having sufficient time to move. As a result, Sandra kept her voucher, and moved her family to a new apartment.

Senior/Housing Law                                                    Back                     

Now in their eighties, Sam and Verline, like many elderly, suffered from chronic health problems. Ten years ago, they relocated to Illinois to be closer to their son and daughter-in-law. When they moved to Illinois, Sam and Verline sold their home in another state and gave the proceeds to their son and daughter-in-law to purchase a duplex for them all to live in. It was a good arrangement until their son and daughter-in-law were divorced and she was awarded the duplex. At first, she demanded rent from the elderly couple. Eventually, she sought to evict them. At this time, Sam and Verline sought help from Prairie State Legal Services.

As Prairie State staff worked with the clients, it was discovered that when the duplex was purchased a decade earlier, the son and daughter-in-law had not put either Sam's or Verline’s name on the title documents even though they had paid for the property. Prairie State filed various affirmative defenses to the eviction and counterclaims. The holder of the mortgage of the property was brought in as a necessary party to the case. After pretrial proceedings and much negotiation, the case was settled with the duplex being sold and the proceeds divided between the parties. Our clients were able to purchase another home in the same community.

Social Security                                                                             Back

Medication had kept Gary’s severe schizophrenia under control. However, when the Social Security Administration erroneously terminated his benefits, he became homeless and unable to obtain and keep a supply of his medication. As a result, his schizophrenia became uncontrolled and he required numerous hospitalizations and was ultimately placed in a nursing home.

The social work department of the nursing home contacted Prairie State about Gary’s situation. Investigation of the matter revealed that his benefits had been terminated under a law which makes “fugitive felons” ineligible to receive SSI. The client has been on probation several years prior for a misdemeanor retail theft charge, but he was certainly not a fugitive felon. The termination of his SSI also had led to a claim that he had been overpaid $17,000 during the time he was supposedly an ineligible fugitive felon.

A Prairie State staff attorney filed an appeal and presented proof to the SSA that the client was not a fugitive felon.  A decision was entered restoring his SSI assistance and removing the overpayment.  With his restored income and medical coverage, the client was able to return to a more normal life in the community.

Disability / Housing Law                                                            Back  

Getting two wheelchair bound grandchildren up the stairs and into a second floor apartment is hard. But that is what Irene and her daughter did every day. Irene, a senior citizen, lived in Section 8 housing with her daughter and two severely disabled grandchildren. Both children have cerebral palsy and are confined to wheelchairs. The oldest is now 14 and weighs 160 lbs. After 11 years, the stairs were becoming a dangerous obstacle. When Irene tried to make the difficult situation better, she never dreamed how much worse it might become.

Irene applied for and received a transfer certificate from Section 8 to allow her to move to a new apartment. However, finding a first floor Section 8 apartment with handicap accessible features was not possible within the 60 days allowed by the transfer. As the deadline approached, Irene tried to call the Section 8 office, but was forced to leave messages. When she finally sent a letter asking for a response to her messages, she was informed that her letter had arrived 2 weeks after the transfer certificate had expired and they were terminating her Section 8 subsidy not only for the transfer, but for her current apartment.

A Prairie State staff attorney represented Irene in an administrative appeal, pointing out that, under the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, Irene had not been provided the support needed to assist her in finding an apartment. The hearing officer wrote a strong opinion supporting the arguments made on Irene’s behalf. Her subsidy was reinstated, she was given a new transfer certificate, and provided active assistance in helping her find a new apartment.

Senior Exploitation                                                          Back                 

Age brings with it many losses. Sarah first lost her sight, then her health declined. She maintained her independence, living in her own home with her granddaughter assisting her.

However, due to her declining health, her adult son demanded that she move into his home so that he could supervise her care. He was very controlling and would not let her go to the senior center or other social settings. The local elder abuse agency was called, and Sarah told them that she wished to return to her home.

When the son was confronted with this, he informed the client and senior services that he now owned the property. A quit claim deed had in fact been executed by the client a few months earlier. She denied ever knowingly conveying the house to him. She suspects that he got her to sign the deed by telling her that she was signing a check for her medical bills. Prairie State remains involved in an effort to restore Sarah’s home and her independence.

Housing Law                                                         Back

Four more years and the house would be paid for. Now the court order said Lisa had 7 days to move and must pay a $16,000 judgment. When Lisa and her husband arranged to buy the home on a 10-year contract, it was a great opportunity for them and their two daughters. However, when Lisa and her husband separated, they were unable to keep up with payments. The owner filed a complaint in landlord/tenant court and obtained a judgment for possession of the home and for the remaining balance on the contract to purchase. This meant that Lisa lost not only her home, but all the equity she had in her home. When she came to Prairie State, she was frantic.

Prairie State staff realized that because of the amount of equity involved, the action by the owner should have been brought under the Illinois Mortgage Foreclosure law, which would have offered some protection for Lisa’s equity. The original order was vacated and the landlord/tenant action dismissed. In the meantime, Lisa was able to sell the home, repay all she owed the original owner and have money left over for a security deposit and a couple of month’s rent for a new home for herself and her daughters.

Domestic Violence                                                                           Back 

Ghita had come to the United States from India to marry her husband, and had lived with him for two years. They had an infant son together. Her husband, in this arranged marriage, turned out to be abusive and controlling, prohibiting Ghita from seeing relatives in town, making friends, or leaving the home without him. When he was home from work, she could not even care for their son without his permission. He struck her on a routine basis.

One early March night during an argument, he kicked her repeatedly on her leg, abdomen and lower back, and ripped out a portion of her hair so that her scalp was exposed. After beating her, he ordered her to leave the home, but prohibited her from taking her coat or shoes. She left wearing only a sari and sandals, with no money or transportation. She spent the night behind a dumpster at a shopping mall; the following day a customer who happened to speak her dialect assisted her by calling the police, who took her to the hospital.

A domestic violence shelter filed an Order of Protection for her, but her husband contested it, so Prairie State was called in to represent her. After a two-day hearing, the court agreed she had been severely abused and granted her a two-year Order of Protection and temporary custody of her infant son.

Domestic Violence                                                          Back

He was able to plea down from attempted murder to assault, but he did serve time. During their turbulent marriage, Marie estimated that she and her husband had separated about ten times. He had been violent before but at their last separation Marie was so severely beaten that her husband was charged with attempted murder and her children were placed with her sister by the Department of Children and Family Services. That was the last straw. Marie wanted more from life. She fled to the Salvation Army shelter to hide from her husband (now in jail) and to be near her sister and her children. She sought and received counseling and came to Prairie State for a divorce and to ensure that the criminal order of protection issued against her husband would remain in effect.

A Prairie State attorney reviewed the criminal file and found that the criminal order of protection had been extended and was still valid. This information was conveyed to local law enforcement so that they would be better able to ensure her safety. Following his release from jail, the husband tried to frustrate her attempts to obtain a divorce by substituting attorneys three times. After an incident where he showed his aggression in open court, he apparently lost interest in the proceedings and a default order was obtained. Marie, now legally separated and protected from her abuser, continues to work on her plan with DCFS and hopes to regain custody of her children soon.

Child Support / Pro Bono                                      Back                 

Mary’s story is a wonderful depiction of the child support and pro bono work that we do at and through Prairie State Legal Services.  Shortly after Mary contacted the Peoria office, she was in a severe car accident which required her to be on a respirator for several weeks.  Mary’s case was left open in our office until she was physically and emotionally able to pursue the child support matter.  After Mary was released from the hospital, we prepared petitions to increase child support and a petition for rule to show cause for her ex-husband’s failure to pay child support and medical expenses for both of her daughters.  The case was further complicated by the fact that the ex-husband was dodging service of the court documents.

After successfully obtaining service of the documents upon Mary’s ex-husband, we were able to obtain a judgment against Mary’s ex-husband in the amount of $2,901 in unpaid child support and $1,236.32 in unpaid medical expenses.  In addition, Mary’s child support was increased from $35 to $100 per week.  The award of the child support and medical expense reimbursement is making a positive difference in Mary’s life and the lives of her daughters.

After Mary’s severe car accident, she realized that it would be wise for her to have a will and health care power of attorney prepared.  Through the pro bono program of our office, we were able to refer this matter to a private attorney who prepared and executed a will and health care power of attorney for Mary without charge.

Public Aid                                                                         Back     

Grace and her husband followed the rules. They were doing their best to raise their three daughters. Her husband’s wages were not enough to cover all expenses, so food stamps were a necessity. As a participant in the food stamp program, Grace knew she must report changes in household income. So when her husband’s income rose over a few weeks, she reported the change. No adjustment in food stamps was made. Some time later, however, Public Aid noted that there had been a $360 overpayment and notified Grace. She repaid the overpayment. Then the Department decided that her overpayment was an intentional error and she should be sanctioned from receiving food stamps for six months. This would be a disaster for her family of five.

Turning to Prairie State, Grace sought a way to preserve this essential source of food for her family. A Prairie State Attorney represented her in an administrative hearing where the sanctions were upheld. The Department had properly followed policy. However, there was no evidence that this was an intentianal error and once an appeal was filed with the Circuit Court, the Department of Human Services withdrew the sanction. Grace and her family were able to maintain this critical source of food.

Senior / Housing                                              Back                 

It was a different apartment than where she had raised her 10 children, but it was home. Now, widowed and coping with a heart condition, Fran faced eviction. The landlord alleged that she had someone living with her in violation of her lease. Some of Fran’s children came by during the day to help her with basic household tasks, but no one lived with her.

Anxious and worried, Fran contacted Prairie State. When contacted by a Prairie State attorney, the landlord agreed that Fran would not be evicted if they saw no further evidence of persons living with her. They did not at that time or at any other time provide evidence that someone was living with her. Two months after this agreement, the landlord again sought to evict her. The court dismissed the complaint in court when it was shown that Fran had continued to pay rent and the landlord accepted that rent.

Fran began to look for a new place to live. This was complicated when she was denied housing because her current landlord refused to cooperate with the inquiries of the potential new landlord. Ultimately with the help of Prairie State, Fran avoided harassing eviction actions and obtained new safe and affordable housing.

Order of Protection                                        Back

It began when Mary’s boyfriend killed her two-year-old child (blunt force trauma and shaken baby syndrome). Mary called the police and cooperated with the criminal prosecution of the boyfriend. Although he was in jail, Mary feared that if he made bond he would come after her or one of her two other children. He had in fact called Mary from jail and left a threatening message.

She came to Prairie State seeking an order of protection to help provide some measure of security. Opposing counsel in the plenary hearing argued that there was no evidence of abuse toward the client and therefore no basis for issuing an order of protection. A Prairie State Staff Attorney argued that the threatening phone message met the definition of “harassment” according to the Illinois Domestic Violence Act. The court agreed and entered the Plenary Order of Protection, prohibiting all direct or indirect contact with Mary or her remaining children.

Domestic Violence / Homelessness prevention                 Back

Faced with raising three small children on her own, Kristen came to Prairie State in hopes of preventing her eviction from public housing. The eviction action was the newest in a series of problems Kristen faced as she tried to provide security for herself and her children.

This was not the first time Prairie State staff helped Kristen. In October of the prior year, Kristen obtained an emergency order of protection against her husband in response to occurrences of domestic violence. However, she did not seek a plenary order since she was currently pregnant and wanted to give him a second chance. It did not work out as she hoped. More abuse followed in December and it continued into the Spring. Finally, she took action to break free of the violence and obtained both an emergency and plenary order of protection though Prairie State’s Domestic Violence Clinic at the Kane County Courthouse. Her husband went to jail for domestic battery, and she decided to seek a divorce. Now on the pro bono divorce waiting list, Kristen had an eviction matter pending.

The action against Kristen was based on her husband’s failure to report income and for unreported incidents of domestic violence. In her defense, Prairie State attorneys argued that since the client was a victim of domestic violence, it would be against the purpose of the Domestic Violence Act to evict her for that reason. We also argued that it is common for abusers to not allow their victims to have any information regarding their income. The client had always reported her income to the Housing Authority and since she had no knowledge of the income in question, holding her accountable for her husband’s deceptive action was unfair. The Housing Authority agreed to settle the case because we had an order of protection that prohibited the husband from entering the apartment. Kristen and her three children are now shielded from further abuse and have a safe place to live.