On July 15, 2025, staff from the Administrative Office of Illinois Courts Access to Justice Division and Illinois Court Help (ILCH) traveled to Rock Island, Illinois, to collect feedback on Lex, ILCH’s virtual court guide and chatbot feature. The testing session was hosted at Project NOW, a local social service organization that serves low-income families, older adults, and people experiencing housing insecurity in Rock Island, Henry, and Mercer counties.
Project NOW was selected as a host site to collect community feedback through a 2022 Justice for All (JFA) grant secured by the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Access to Justice. The organization’s mission is to “strengthen communities by helping people help themselves and one another.” Through the JFA grant, host sites recruit community members to provide feedback on statewide forms and court resources and receive funds to recruit, host, and compensate community members for their time and effort.
ILCH launched Lex in 2025 to provide more tools to empower communities to navigate the legal system effectively, especially for people without lawyers. In the testing session, participants shared feedback that will inform updated versions of Lex, including commentary on instructions, format, and ease of use.
While many participants suggested improvements, everyone agreed they would trust Lex for legal information and support navigating the Illinois court system in the future.
ILCH values community feedback and aims to implement insights from Project NOW to improve Lex and services for court users throughout Illinois. For assistance, contact Illinois Court Help's hotline at 833-411-1121, open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Users can also send messages or access Lex directly on the ILCH website at ilcourthelp.gov.