Illinois Legal Aid Online - GuideStar Profile
GuideStar
Illinois Legal Aid Online
Opening opportunities for justice for people without lawyers.
aka
ILAO
Chicago, IL
Mission
At Illinois Legal Aid Online, our vision is a just society where all people have equitable access to opportunities. Illinois Legal Aid Online (ILAO) opens opportunities for justice by educating Illinoisans about their rights and connecting them to lawyers, solutions, and each other. We believe that, with the right knowledge and guidance, people can be their own best advocates. We mobilize people with plain-language, 24/7 tools - in two languages - so families can understand and assert their legal rights. ILAO helps people, who are unable to find or afford attorneys, open opportunities for justice and improve their lives.
Ruling year
info
2006
Board Chair
Renee McMahon
Executive Director / Assistant Secretary
Teresa Ross
Main address
11 E Adams St Ste 500
Chicago, IL 60603-6334 USA
Show more contact info
Contact Information
Contact
Email contact available with a
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Physical Address
11 E Adams St Ste 500
Chicago, IL 60603-6334
Payment Address
11 E Adams Street Suite 500
Chicago, IL 60603-6334
Donation Payable
Legal name of organization: Illinois Legal Aid Online
EIN for payable organization: 20-2917133
EIN
20-2917133
NTEE code
info
Legal Services (I80)
IRS filing requirement
This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.
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Communication
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Every day, every hour, people experience problems and crises, such as domestic abuse, medical care, substandard housing, unpaid wages, disability, eviction and loss of income - all of which can be resolved using the law.
While life can be unfair, Illinois Legal Aid Online (ILAO) makes it more just. We believe the law belongs to everyone, not just those who can afford a lawyer. We simplify the law into understandable terms, practical options, and actionable steps, so people can seek justice and resolve their problems.
Many people are without a safety net to rely on in times of family crisis, housing emergency, job loss, illness or disability. By providing free, 24/7, user-friendly resources, ILAO gives hope and reassurance to the millions of people who use its self-help tools each year.
Our programs
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success,
and who do the programs serve?
Community Navigators & Partnerships
Community Navigators act as local educators and connectors who engage their neighbors, peers, and institutions through public educational sessions. They also provide access to and assistance with self-advocacy tools, designed to aid people to open opportunities for stability and mitigate the collateral consequences of incarceration or immigration policies, with the goals of strengthening infrastructure and promoting community safety and prosperity. ILAO’s navigators inform program design and improvements through continuous, iterative feedback.
Population(s) Served
Get Legal Help
Get Legal Help is a tool that gives people the best available resources for their legal problem. Get Legal Help offers those in need with a way to connect to tailored legal information and local help. The Get Legal Help tool directs people to free legal forms, self-help guides, or a lawyer (or any combination of the three). When a person enters their ZIP code, legal issue, and household income, the tool queries ILAO’s database of legal services to match a user with the best available, local, legal resources.
Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people
Family relationships
Formerly incarcerated people
Immigrants and migrants
Victims of crime and abuse
IllinoisLegalAid.org
Illinois Legal Aid Online (ILAO) believes the law is for everyone. ILAO believes that many people, empowered with the right tools and guidance, can learn and act on their legal rights, be their own best advocates, and get the justice they seek. Through our website - IllinoisLegalAid.org - we provide free, 24/7, plain-language, empowerment tools so that people can seek justice.
Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people
Formerly incarcerated people
Immigrants and migrants
Family relationships
Victims of crime and abuse
Where we work
Illinois (United States)
Photos
Community Navigator Manager Jerome White stands beside a sign for an ILAO-co-sponsored expungement and sealing event.
Videos
play_circle_outline
Connecting and Learning from People with Lived Eviction Experience
play_circle_outline
How ILAO helped Janice to regain her life
play_circle_outline
Shining a Light for Justice
play_circle_outline
Walking with Courtney on her legal journey
Our results
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Evaluation documents
Download evaluation reports
Number of volunteers
This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Related Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
ILAO is a small organization with a BIG impact. Our 20+ staff members are supported by more than 100 dedicated volunteers who provide free legal help to over 2.5 million people a year!
Number of unique website visitors
This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Related Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Through its website at IllinoisLegalAid.org, Illinois Legal Aid Online provides just-in-time, free practical tools to people who need them, 24/7/365.
Number of websites and organizations (outside of our organization) that share our resources and information
This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Related Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
ILAO has learned that designing great tools is not enough; they must be effectively promoted to target audiences through effective outreach and strategic partnerships.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Learn more about
Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
At Illinois Legal Aid Online (ILAO), we believe in the transformative effect of simple, actionable information paired with well-designed technology. Our outcomes are ambitious and our benefits are impactful.
Because of Illinois Legal Aid Online (ILAO), people with Illinois legal problems:
- know and act on their legal rights
- navigate the legal system with confidence and don't feel alone
- are able to overcome barriers and improve their lives
- understand that dealing with small problems today will prevent big legal problems tomorrow.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Illinois Legal Aid Online's objective is to help people with Illinois civil legal problems to: 1) better understand their legal rights and responsibilities and the options available to resolve their problems; and, 2) leverage ILAO’s free legal tools to take action on those rights and responsibilities.
We will achieve this objective by: diligent tracking of pertinent Illinois laws that affect lower-income families and individuals; regular review and updating of our free legal tools so that they are accurate; making ongoing technology improvements to grow trust in our resources; and, conduct strategic marketing activities to increase awareness of our free, 24/7 tools.
ILAO will keep abreast of law changes and how they affect the information and tools offered on IllinoisLegalAid.org. In each of the last two calendar years (2023 and 2024), over 400 Illinois laws were added or changed. We know that our users rely on ILAO as a trusted source of information; we secure this trust by tracking legislative updates and updating our information to be accurate.
To enhance the availability of civil legal aid to those of limited means, ILAO will improve and expand the ways in which people are directed to the best available resource for their legal issue and circumstances. Known as ‘Get Legal Help’, ILAO’s triage, referral and intake tool just underwent a comprehensive evaluation. ILAO will implement recommended improvements over the coming year, to enhance the experience of legal aid programs and the clients who access them via Get Legal Help.
Finally, we have learned that building great tools is not enough; they must be effectively promoted to potential users. As a part of each new service or product we launch or release, we design and execute marketing activities to raise awareness of our free tools available to Illinois’ families and individuals.
How we listen
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
done
We demonstrated a willingness to learn more by reviewing resources about feedback practice.
done
We shared information about our current feedback practices.
How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded
What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, We don’t have the right technology to collect and aggregate feedback efficiently, It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection, Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time, The people we serve tell us they find data collection burdensome,
Financials
Illinois Legal Aid Online
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Board of directors
Officers, directors, trustees, and key employees
Highest paid employees
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Illinois Legal Aid Online
Board of directors
as of
02/03/2026
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair
Renee McMahon
Anand Mathew
BOARD MEMBER
Andrew Davidson
Annie Wang
Benjamin Bradford
BOARD MEMBER
C. David Ader
BOARD MEMBER
Chris Petrini-Poli
BOARD MEMBER
Christopher Comerford
BOARD MEMBER
David Hambourger
IMMED. PAST
Elizabeth Chiarello
Elysia Solomon
BOARD MEMBER
Heather Russell
BOARD MEMBER
Jacqueline McLaughlin
BOARD MEMBER
Jennifer Woods
BOARD MEMBER
Kenneth Jennings
BOARD MEMBER
Kourtney Baltzer
BOARD MEMBER
Kristina Hendricks
BOARD MEMBER
Meredith Pike
Renee McMahon
Board Chair
Timothy Smith
BOARD MEMBER
Board leadership practices
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader
in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations?
yes
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ?
yes
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year?
yes
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership?
yes
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years?
yes
Organizational demographics
info
Candid has made improvements to the race and ethnicity options.
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities?
Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
White/Caucasian/European
Gender identity
Female
The organization's co-leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
White/Caucasian/European
Gender identity
Female
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
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