Illinois Legal Aid Online Annual Report FY21

Volunteer Profile

ALISON LARSON Strategic Pricing and Risk Manager at Neal Gerber & Eisenberg LLP. I am also honored to serve as ILAO’s Board Chair from 2019–2021. How did you first hear about ILAO?

Why should others give to or get involved with ILAO? Because it is the most effective way to ensure

From former Board Chair Todd Flaming and Board member Veronica Gomez—I joined the Board of Directors in 2014. Why did you first give to and get involved with ILAO? Within the legal profession, ILAO is one of the few organizations actually willing to smash traditional stereotypes in order to ensure that people have access to the tools and information they need to protect themselves and their families. What about ILAO most resonates with you? Empowerment—ILAO empowers people with knowledge of the law and tools to help them use the law to assert their rights. Why do you still contribute to ILAO? Particularly since COVID—the need for such services has been highlighted. There are not enough attorneys or legal aid services affordable or available to people who need them.

that all people have access to legal help. What law would you abolish if you could? OR What law would you create? Election funding reform—eliminate PACs, provide public forums for message dissemination and enact (low) maximum “war chest” amounts based upon the scope of the size of the electorate for the office in question. The amount of money wasted on elections could feed the nation. Also would eliminate the electoral college as it no longer represents people— it represents regional biases.

Volunteer Stats • ILAO volunteers donated more than 3,000 hours to help keep our legal information accurate, translated, and findable. At $50/hour, that’s more than $150,000 ! • Legal content volunteers reviewed nearly 40,000 words • LiveHelp volunteers took more than 20,000 chats • Community navigators gave more than 250 know-your-rights presentations to nearly 10,000 people impacted by incarceration and immigration policies

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Illinois Legal Aid Online (ILAO) • IllinoisLegalAid.org

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