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1    AN ACT concerning courts.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Access to Justice Act is amended by changing
5Sections 5, 10, 15, and 20 and by adding Section 7 as follows:
 
6    (705 ILCS 95/5)
7    Sec. 5. Findings.
8    (a) The justice system in this State can only function
9fairly and effectively when there is meaningful access to legal
10information, resources, and assistance for all litigants,
11regardless of their income or circumstances.
12    (b) Increasing numbers of people throughout this State,
13including an increasing number of active duty service members
14and veterans, are coming into the courts without legal
15representation for cases involving important legal matters
16impacting the basics of life such as health, safety, and
17shelter. In order for the courts to provide fair and efficient
18administration of justice in these cases, it is critical that
19people, and active duty service members and veterans in
20particular, have better access to varying levels of legal
21assistance appropriate for their individual circumstances,
22which will reduce the number of cases the courts must manage
23and reduce unnecessary backlogs and delays in the court system

 

 

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1for the benefit of all litigants.
2    (c) An increasing number of active duty service members and
3veterans in this State have a need for legal information and
4assistance in a variety of matters that are often critical to
5their safety and independence, yet they are often unable to
6access that assistance. Providing access to legal advice and a
7referral system of attorneys for veterans and active duty
8service members, who often have underlying issues as a result
9of their military service, increases the efficiency of the
10court system and advances access to justice for everyone in
11this State.
12(Source: P.A. 98-351, eff. 8-15-13.)
 
13    (705 ILCS 95/7 new)
14    Sec. 7. Definitions. As used in this Act:
15    (a) "Foundation" means the Illinois Equal Justice
16Foundation, a not-for-profit corporation created by the
17Illinois State Bar Association and the Chicago Bar Association
18and recognized under the Illinois Equal Justice Act.
19    (b) "Illinois Access to Civil Justice Council" or "Council"
20means a special advisory body created by the Foundation. The
21Council consists of 7 members, appointed as follows: one by the
22Lawyers Trust Fund of Illinois, one by the Chicago Bar
23Foundation, one by the Illinois Bar Foundation, one by the
24Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs, one by the Illinois
25Attorney General, and 2 by the Foundation or any successor

 

 

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1entities or agencies as designated by the Council.
 
2    (705 ILCS 95/10)
3    Sec. 10. Pilot programs.
4    (a) The Illinois Access to Civil Justice Council shall
5General Assembly encourages the Supreme Court to develop: (i) a
6pilot program to create a statewide military personnel and
7veterans' legal assistance hotline and coordinated network of
8legal support resources; and (ii) a pilot program to provide
9court-based legal assistance within a circuit court in each
10appellate district of this State.
11    (a-5) The Supreme Court Access to Justice Commission may
12develop a pilot program to provide court-based legal assistance
13services.
14    (b) The General Assembly recommends that the rules
15developing the pilot programs:
16        (1) provide intake, screening, and varying levels of
17    legal assistance to ensure that the parties served by these
18    programs have meaningful access to justice;
19        (2) gather information on the outcomes associated with
20    providing the services described in paragraph (1) of this
21    subsection; and
22        (3) guard against the involuntary waiver of rights or
23    disposition by default.
24(Source: P.A. 98-351, eff. 8-15-13.)
 

 

 

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1    (705 ILCS 95/15)
2    Sec. 15. Access to Justice Fund.
3    (a) The Access to Justice Fund is created as a special fund
4in the State treasury. The Fund shall consist of fees collected
5under Section 27.3g of the Clerks of Courts Act. Moneys Subject
6to appropriation, moneys in the Access to Justice Fund shall be
7appropriated to the Attorney General for disbursements to the
8Foundation. The Foundation shall use the moneys to make grants
9and distributions used by the Supreme Court for the
10administration of the pilot programs created under this Act.
11Grants or distributions made under this Act to the Foundation
12are subject to the requirements of the Illinois Grant Funds
13Recovery Act.
14    (b) In accordance with the requirements of the Illinois
15Equal Justice Act, the Foundation may make grants, enter into
16contracts, and take other actions recommended by the Council to
17effectuate the pilot programs and comply with the other
18requirements of this Act.
19    (c) The governing board of the Foundation must prepare and
20submit an annual report to the Governor, the President of the
21Senate, the Minority Leader of the Senate, the Speaker of the
22House of Representatives, the Minority Leader of the House of
23Representatives, and the Justices of the Illinois Supreme
24Court. The report must include: (i) a statement of the total
25receipts and a breakdown by source during each of the previous
262 calendar years; (ii) a list of the names and addresses of the

 

 

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1recipients that are currently receiving grants or
2distributions and that received grants or distributions in the
3previous year and the amounts committed to recipients for the
4current year and paid in the previous year; (iii) a breakdown
5of the amounts of grants or distributions paid during the
6previous year to recipients and the amounts committed to each
7recipient for the current year; (iv) a breakdown of the
8Foundation's costs in administering the Fund; (v) a statement
9of the Fund balance at the start and at the close of the
10previous year and the interest earned during the previous year;
11and (vi) any notices the Foundation issued denying applications
12for grants or distributions under this Act. The report, in its
13entirety, is a public record, and the Foundation and the
14Governor shall make the report available for inspection upon
15request.
16    (d) The Foundation may annually retain a portion of the
17disbursements it receives under this Section to reimburse the
18Foundation for the actual cost of administering the Council and
19for making the grants and distributions pursuant to this Act
20during that year.
21    (e) No moneys distributed by the Foundation from the Access
22to Justice Fund may be directly or indirectly used for lobbying
23activities, as defined in Section 2 of the Lobbyist
24Registration Act or as defined in any ordinance or resolution
25of a municipality, county, or other unit of local government in
26Illinois.

 

 

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1    (f) The Foundation may make, enter into, and execute
2contracts, agreements, leases, and other instruments with any
3person, including without limitation any federal, State, or
4local governmental agency, and may take other actions that may
5be necessary or convenient to accomplish any purpose authorized
6by this Act.
7    (g) The Foundation has the authority to receive and accept
8any and all grants, loans, subsidies, matching funds,
9reimbursements, federal grant moneys, fees for services, and
10other things of value from the federal or State government or
11any agency of any other state or from any institution, person,
12firm, or corporation, public or private, to be used to carry
13out the purposes of this Act.
14(Source: P.A. 98-351, eff. 8-15-13.)
 
15    (705 ILCS 95/20)
16    Sec. 20. Evaluation. The Council Supreme Court shall study
17the effectiveness of the pilot programs implemented under this
18Act and submit a report to the Supreme Court, Governor, and
19General Assembly by June 1, 2021 2017. The report shall include
20the number of people served by the veteran and active military
21legal hotline and pro bono program and data on how the pilot
22programs expanded access to justice and the impact on
23government programs and community resources in each pilot
24program and data on the impact of varying levels of legal
25assistance on access to justice, the effect on fair and

 

 

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1efficient court administration, and the impact on government
2programs and community resources. This report shall describe
3the benefits of providing legal assistance to those who were
4previously unrepresented, both for the clients, the military
5and veteran service organizations, and civil legal aid
6programs, and the courts, and shall describe strategies and
7recommendations for maximizing the benefit of that
8representation in the future. The report shall include an
9assessment of the continuing unmet needs and, if available,
10data regarding those unmet needs.
11(Source: P.A. 98-351, eff. 8-15-13.)
 
12    Section 10. The Clerks of Courts Act is amended by changing
13Section 27.3g as follows:
 
14    (705 ILCS 105/27.3g)
15    (Section scheduled to be repealed on August 15, 2018)
16    Sec. 27.3g. Pilot program; Access to Justice Act.
17    (a) On and after September 1, 2015 If the Supreme Court
18develops a pilot program to provide court-based legal
19assistance in accordance with Section 10 of the Access to
20Justice Act, all clerks of the circuit court shall charge and
21collect at the time of filing the first pleading, paper, or
22other appearance filed by each party in all civil cases, in
23addition to any other fees, a fee of $2 $10, but no additional
24fee shall be required if more than one party is represented in

 

 

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1a single pleading, paper, or other appearance. Fees received by
2the clerk of the circuit court under this Section shall be
3remitted by the clerk of the circuit court to the State
4Treasurer, within one month after receipt, to the Supreme Court
5for deposit into the Access to Justice Fund created under
6Section 15 of the Access to Justice Act.
7    (b) This Section is repealed on September 1, 2020 5 years
8after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 98th
9General Assembly.
10(Source: P.A. 98-351, eff. 8-15-13.)
 
11    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
12becoming law.