The College of Law was fortunate to host Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice P. Scott Neville, Jr. on October 8 for a wide-ranging discussion about access to justice, pro bono representation, and the rule of law in Illinois. Our mission to advance justice and the public good is of paramount importance, which made his announcement of a new Housing Justice Clinic initiative all the more meaningful.
Joined by Illinois Law Dean Jamelle Sharpe as well as Dean Cassandra Hill of Northern Illinois University College of Law, and Dean Hannah Johnson of Southern Illinois University Simmons Law School, Chief Justice Neville shared his plan for the Illinois Supreme Court to partner with the three law schools to help people facing housing problems.
“Today, throughout Illinois, people enter our courthouses with serious problems. They may be about to lose their home. Families may be in trouble. Livelihoods may be at stake. Despite having a valid claim or defense, they may have no idea how to assert it,” he said. “We sometimes talk about access to justice as though opening the courthouse doors solves the problem. It doesn’t. A person can walk through those doors and still have no idea what to do next. That is where lawyers come in.”
This unprecedented collaboration between the highest court and the state’s centers for legal education is a tremendous undertaking, one that Illinois Law is excited to see come to fruition. Providing help to those in need and shaping the minds of future lawyers will make the clinics life-changing for many individuals.
“By providing free legal representation to those suffering from housing instability, the initiative will augment our ability to provide transformative educational opportunities for our students, expand legal services to those in our part of the state who desperately need it, and increase awareness of pro bono opportunities for members of the bar. This is an exciting development,” Sharpe said in an email to the Illinois Law community.
The College of Law hopes to begin enrolling students in the clinic by the fall of 2027.