By Judge Jorge Ortiz, Chair of the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Access to Justice
During this time of thanksgiving, I want to take a moment to thank all the Commissioners on the Access to Justice Commission, our Supreme Court liaison, Justice David K. Overstreet, and our many volunteer committee members for their steadfast commitment to increasing access to justice throughout Illinois. I also want to add a special thanks to the ATJ Division staff who shepherd the work of the ATJ Commission and are the backbone of the initiatives.
Looking outward, we also want to recognize a few of the many individuals who have made meaningful contributions to the Illinois justice system this year. At the outset, it is necessary (and hopefully obvious) to point out that this list is representative of the great work being done across the state and reflective of the many individuals who strive each day to ensure that our courts are fair and accessible.
- Chief Judge Timothy Evans, Circuit Court of Cook County
Chief Judge Timothy Evans has served as Chief Judge in the Circuit Court of Cook County for the last 24 years. During that time, he championed many initiatives to improve access to the courts. Most recently, he issued General Administrative Order 2025-10 reiterating the common law privilege against civil arrest for people attending court. As stated in the order, the “fair administration of justice requires that courts remain open and accessible, and that litigants and witnesses may appear without fear of civil arrest.” This effort to protect people who may be afraid to leave their homes to attend court is admirable.
Other initiatives that launched under his leadership include the new and improved Resource Center for People Without Lawyers in the Daley Center, Illinois JusticeCorps, Early Resolution Program, and Right to Counsel program for Eviction Court as well as the court-based rental assistance program, foreclosure mediation launched in the heart of the recession, specialty/treatment courts including restorative justice community courts, and much more.
Thank you for your service as Chief Judge and all the programs you shaped or approved to increase access to justice throughout Cook County.
- Guardianship Forms Subcommittee
This forms subcommittee has been hard at work creating a new statewide form set for minor guardianship. This work started back in 2020, after a Justice For All Grant program that sought to increase resources around family-related issues in the courts. Minor guardianship is an area of law that has tremendous differences across the state for how cases were processed and charged fees. In order to create more uniformity before the release of statewide forms, this led to an effort to remove the filing fees for those individuals who are willing to become guardians of minors. The Court approved the change to filing fees in April, and the committee completed the form set.
The form set was approved by the Forms Committee in October will be available under the Guardianship of a Minor section of this page. This form set will help self-represented litigants navigate the complex process of obtaining guardianship of a minor. These forms will undeniably increase access to justice for underrepresented populations. Thanks to all the subcommittee members for bringing these forms to life!
The subcommittee is composed entirely of volunteer subject matter experts who donated ample time toward drafting and refining this vital form set. The subcommittee is staffed by Brent Page, Supervising Senior Policy Attorney, the Access to Justice Division, and the members are:
- Cheryl Lipton, Senior Attorney, Center for Disability & Elder Law
- Doug Smothers, Senior Staff Attorney, Land of Lincoln Legal Aid
- Frances Paparigian, Illinois Court Help, Court Guide
- John Joanem, Circuit Judge, 19th Judicial Circuit Lake County
- Matt Newsted, Associate Director of Legal Tech, Illinois Legal Aid Online
- Megan Nolan, Attorney, Johnson, Johnson & Nolan
- Rebecca Rashidfarokhi, Director of Court Advocacy, Chicago Volunteer Legal Services
- Maureen Loughran, Senior Vice President, Northern Trust
- Stephen Iden, Partner, Young Law Partners, P.C.
- Susan McGrath, Circuit Clerk of Champaign County
- Illinois Court Help Team, Access to Justice Division, Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts
Since launching in 2021, Illinois Court Help has provided court users with reliable information by phone, text, and email. This year the program launched a new bot, Lex. To ensure only accurate information is provided to anyone chatting with Lex, the bot is fully programmed. This means that people had to input all the information into the flow charts and logic trees rather than using AI. Now people can receive accurate information from Illinois Court Help via Lex 24/7.
This herculean effort was executed with enthusiasm by the entire Illinois Court Help team (Avani Patel, Helen Doig, Jessica Acosta, Sara Schlecht, Brittany Underwood, Daisy Fermaint, Darli Cortez, Erik Lubben, Frances Paparigian, Janice Coleman, Miguel Nunez, Naomi Wilner, Rick Hamer, Tahmia Dugger). In addition to being on the Illinois Court Help hotline every day from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., this team found time to work on and perfect this vital addition to the ILCH offered services.
- Seth Floyd, Circuit Clerk of Piatt County
Through strategic grant funding and internal resourcefulness, Seth modernized the county's court technology-scanning resulting in archiving over 25 years of case files in less than a year, saving the county more than $100,000. He managed upgrades to IT infrastructure across all court stakeholders, including court staff in six offices. His leadership in making the court more accessible through a redesigned website, mobile application, and in courthouse display system has set a benchmark for user-centered public service. Even during his first year in office, Seth pushed Piatt County to the forefront as one of the first counties in Illinois to implement criminal e-filing. As Court Disability Coordinator and Jury Commissioner, he has continued to ensure that the Circuit Clerk's Office is accessible, responsive, and deeply attuned to the needs of the public.
On behalf of the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Access to Justice, we thank those mentioned above. We also are deeply grateful to all the judges, legal aid and pro bono lawyers, circuit clerks, court staff, self-help personnel, navigators, volunteers, AOIC staff, our partners, and all those who share the vision of a more fair and accessible court system.