17 Resources
Legal Aid Chicago's downtown office at 120 S LaSalle, Suite 900 is Cook County's largest free civil legal provider, taking cases in family law, housing, public benefits, consumer debt, and immigration. Mothers under 200% FPL can apply by calling (312) 341-1070 weekdays 9am-5pm; intake screens for Chicago, Evanston, and suburban Cook residents. Trauma-informed advocates handle domestic-violence-related cases on an expedited track.
(312) 341-1070 · 120 S LaSalle St Suite 900, Chicago, IL 60603 · Mon-Fri 9am-5pm
Land of Lincoln Legal Aid serves 65 central and southern Illinois counties from its Springfield headquarters at 302 N 1st St, with branch offices in East St. Louis, Champaign, and Carbondale. The free intake line (877) 342-7891 runs Mon-Fri 8:30am-5pm for low-income women needing help with custody, evictions, public benefits, and consumer matters. The agency prioritizes survivors of domestic violence and elder abuse.
(877) 342-7891 · 302 N 1st St, Springfield, IL 62702 · Mon-Fri 8:30am-5pm · Visit Website
Prairie State Legal Services covers 36 northern and central Illinois counties from its Rockford headquarters at 975 N Main St, with offices in Waukegan, Joliet, Kankakee, and St. Charles. Free civil representation is available for women below 125% FPL on family law, housing, and benefits matters. Call (815) 965-2902 weekdays 8:30am-5pm; bilingual Spanish staff and senior-focused project advocates are on-site.
(815) 965-2902 · 975 N Main St, Rockford, IL 61103 · Mon-Fri 8:30am-5pm · Visit Website
CVLS at 33 N Dearborn, Suite 400 in the Loop matches Cook County mothers with pro bono attorneys handling divorce, custody, parentage, guardianship, and consumer cases. Call (312) 332-1624 weekdays 9am-5pm; intake is income-eligible and most cases are referred to volunteer lawyers within 30 days. CVLS runs evening pro se clinics at the Daley Center and specialty programs for survivors and seniors.
(312) 332-1624 · 33 N Dearborn St Suite 400, Chicago, IL 60602 · Mon-Fri 9am-5pm · Visit Website
ILAO is the statewide self-help portal jointly run by all Illinois legal-aid programs and the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Access to Justice. The site offers automated court-form interviews, plain-language guides on Illinois family and housing law, and a referral tool that routes by ZIP code to Legal Aid Chicago, Prairie State, or Land of Lincoln. Always free and available in English and Spanish.
Online resource · 24/7 online · Visit Website
Life Span at 70 E Lake St, Suite 630 provides free civil legal services exclusively to domestic-violence and sexual-assault survivors in Cook County. Staff attorneys handle orders of protection, custody, divorce, and immigration relief under VAWA and U-visa law. Call (312) 408-1210 Mon-Fri 9am-5pm; safety planning is built into every intake and bilingual Spanish services are available throughout the case.
(312) 408-1210 · 70 E Lake St Suite 630, Chicago, IL 60601 · Mon-Fri 9am-5pm · Visit Website
CGLA at 740 N Milwaukee Ave in West Town offers free legal help in family law, criminal record sealing and expungement, housing, and reentry support for low-income Chicagoans. Their record-relief program helps mothers clear barriers to jobs and housing tied to old arrests. Call (312) 738-2452 Mon-Fri 9am-5pm; community-based advocates pair legal services with case management.
(312) 738-2452 · 740 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60642 · Mon-Fri 9am-5pm · Visit Website
GCLC's downtown office at 17 N State St, Suite 1710 represents low-income Chicagoans in immigration, tax controversy, mortgage foreclosure, and probate matters. Mothers facing deportation, IRS audits, or inherited-property disputes can call (773) 731-1762 Mon-Fri 9am-5pm. The clinic's Pilsen and South Side outreach offices add neighborhood access and bilingual Spanish intake.
(773) 731-1762 · 17 N State St Suite 1710, Chicago, IL 60602 · Mon-Fri 9am-5pm
LSC is the federally funded nonprofit that funds Legal Aid Chicago, Prairie State, and Land of Lincoln, the three programs that cover every Illinois county. The LSC site explains income eligibility nationally and provides a Find Legal Aid map that routes Illinois mothers to the correct local office by address. Available 24/7 with explanatory videos on what civil legal aid covers and does not cover.
Nationwide · Online · Visit Website
LawHelp.org is Pro Bono Net's nationwide directory routing low-income women to local legal aid. Illinois users are redirected to IllinoisLegalAid.org's intake screener, which matches by county, household size, and issue. The platform includes plain-language guides on family law, housing, and public benefits with content reviewed by practicing legal-aid attorneys and updated as state laws change.
Nationwide · Online
The American Bar Association's free legal-help portal lists every Illinois pro bono program, lawyer referral service, and court self-help center on a single state page. Mothers can find Cook County's CARPLS hotline, downstate clinics in Champaign and Peoria, and military-specific resources at Scott AFB. Updated annually by ABA staff and accessible in multiple languages.
Nationwide · Online · Visit Website
Pro Bono Net operates the technology behind IllinoisLegalAid.org and connects Illinois volunteer attorneys to underserved mothers through online intake and case-matching tools. The public site lists upcoming free legal clinics in Chicago, including divorce-help nights at the Daley Center and orders-of-protection clinics run with Connections for Abused Women and their Children.
Nationwide · Online · Visit Website
Justia's free legal-aid directory lists every Illinois nonprofit law office, bar association referral service, and law-school clinic by city, including Loyola, DePaul, Chicago-Kent, U of I, and SIU clinics that take pro se mothers. Each listing includes contact information and a description of services, helpful for women in smaller cities like Decatur, Bloomington, or Galesburg without a dedicated legal-aid storefront.
Nationwide · Online · Visit Website
WomensLaw.org's Find Help tool lists every Illinois domestic-violence legal advocate, civil legal-aid office, and survivor-focused attorney by county. The free, anonymous resource is curated by the National Network to End Domestic Violence and includes Cook County orders-of-protection clinics, Life Span, Apna Ghar, and downstate DV programs serving Peoria, Rockford, and the Quad Cities.
Nationwide · Online · Visit Website
NCADV's Get Help page links Illinois survivors to legal-advocacy resources including Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence in Springfield, model orders of protection, and tips on preserving evidence for custody court. The site explains Illinois-specific Order of Protection options under 750 ILCS 60 and points to free legal help in both Chicago and downstate communities.
Nationwide · Online · Visit Website
Stateside Legal connects Illinois military families and women veterans at Great Lakes Naval Station, Rock Island Arsenal, and Scott AFB to free legal help with VA benefits, family law, foreclosure, and consumer protection. Illinois listings include Prairie State's veterans unit and Legal Aid Chicago's veterans project. The site explains how SCRA and USERRA apply to Illinois cases.
Nationwide · Online · Visit Website
The DOJ Executive Office for Immigration Review maintains a free directory of Illinois recognized immigration legal-aid organizations, including the National Immigrant Justice Center in Chicago, Catholic Charities Immigration Counseling, and Heartland Alliance. Mothers facing deportation, asylum, U-visa, or VAWA cases can find vetted nonprofits charging low or no fees with on-site interpreters for major Illinois languages.
Nationwide · Online · Visit Website