Illinois contingent attends ABA Forum on Building Access to Justice for All | State of Illinois Office of the Illinois Courts

By: Jill Roberts, Deputy Director, Access to Justice Division, AOIC

Seven members of the Illinois courts attended the American Bar Association’s Forum on Building Access to Justice and the National Meeting of State Access to Justice Commission Chairs in Atlanta, Georgia from October 15 to17. This included the Chair of the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Access to Justice (ATJ), Judge Jorge Ortiz, and six staff members of the ATJ Division of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts (AOIC).

The third annual ABA Forum on Building Access to Justice for All combined the annual Joint IOLTA Conference, the National Lawyer Referral Workshop, and the National Meeting of State Access to Justice Commission Chairs (ATJ Chairs Meeting). The 2025 Forum provided unique educational training, networking opportunities, and support to access to justice commissions, IOLTA programs, lawyer referral programs, and others working to increase access to the civil justice system. Each individual conference, and the Forum collectively, addressed topics of concern to local and state programs and brought together national leaders seeking to share information on resources and best practices to better serve the legal needs of their communities. In addition, special joint programming focused on overlapping concerns.

Judge Jorge Ortiz and Jill Roberts led a table talk entitled ATJ Commission Funding – How to Get Money and What to Do With It. Alison Spanner and Sarah Song led a table talk called Opening Courthouse Doors: Advancing Disability Access and Inclusion One Step at a Time. Avani Patel was a panelist for Empowering the Self-Represented: Innovations in Legal Information, Tools, and Technology.

It was so powerful to get all the states’ Commissions together to share information. Illinois, again, was proven to be a leader in many initiatives and we serve as a model to replicate. We also learned a lot from other states including states who have already launched a new Community Justice Worker program—of which, Illinois is just embarking on.