The Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Access to Justice (ATJ Commission) was honored with the Justice Innovation Award by the Law Center for Better Housing (LCBH) at Bringing Justice Home on October 17th at Buddy Guy’s Legends in Chicago. Judge Jorge Ortiz (Lake County), Chair of the ATJ Commission, accepted the award on behalf of the project. The ATJ Commission was chosen as the award’s recipient for its use of technology-driven solutions to enhance access to legal information as achieved through its standardized, plain language forms project.
Standardized forms are developed by the ATJ Commission’s Forms Committee and its 13 drafting subcommittees. Chaired by Judge Michael Fiello (Jackson County) and Judge Catherine Schneider (Cook County), the Forms Committee and its Eviction Subcommittee spent years developing forms for use in the eviction process.
The Eviction Subcommittee drafted plain language forms from eviction complaint documents to eviction orders, including agreed orders that provide templates for agreements between landlords and tenants. Last year, after years of thoughtful development by the Eviction Subcommittee, the ATJ Commission released new eviction answer and eviction sealing forms, giving self-represented tenants access to the tools they need to respond to an eviction case filed against them and ask the court to remove an eviction case from the public record after it is completed.
“It’s truly an honor to be recognized by the Law Center for Better Housing with their Justice Innovation Award,” said Judge Schneider, co-chair of the Forms Committee. “As Co-Chair of the Forms Committee I have had the great pleasure of working with dedicated volunteers like Mark Swartz, the Executive Director of LCBH, who are experts in their practice areas, who know the needs of self-represented people and the requirements of the law so that we may create legally accurate, yet approachable and usable forms.”
The ATJ Commission, established in 2012 by the Illinois Supreme Court, is charged with promoting, facilitating, and enhancing equal access to justice with an emphasis on access to the Illinois civil courts and administrative agencies for all people. LCBH stands for renters' rights as the only legal aid organization in Chicago focused exclusively on housing justice issues. In 2023, LCBH served nearly 19,000 low- and moderate-income households through legal and supportive services while advocating for public policy initiatives to advance housing justice for all.
In attendance for the ATJ Commission were Avani Patel, Illinois Court Help Supervisor; Michael Zink, Eviction Forms Subcommittee; Mark Swartz, LCBH Executive Director and Eviction Forms Subcommittee Chair; Kathryn Hensley, Forms Supervisor; Judge Jorge Ortiz, Chair ATJ Commission; Alison Spanner, Director ATJ Division; Jill Roberts, Deputy Director, ATJ Division; Sarah Song, Eviction Forms Subcommittee; Judge Catherine Schneider, Co-chair Forms Committee; Judge Alison Conlon, ATJ Commissioner; Lillie Schneyer, Former Forms Team; Dorothy Ksiazek, ATJ Division. The physical awards are photos by renowned civil rights photographer and former director of HOPE Fair Housing Center, Bernie Kleina of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the Chicago Freedom Movement in 1966.
