Land of Lincoln Legal Services held an open house in June for its new Western Regional office, located at 310 Easton Street, Suite 330 in Alton.

The new Western Regional office replaces the previous office located at 413 E. Broadway. The new office allows for an increased amount of in-house attorneys and law students while providing a professional office environment for clients. Among the attendees at the open house were the honorable Lloyd A. Karmeier of the Illinois Supreme Court, Fifth District and Barbara Crowder, Circuit Judge of Madison County, IL. "The demand for legal assistance for the low-income in our community continues to grow, particularly in light of the recent economic down-turn and lay-offs in our community" said Crowder in her address to the open house. "Equality under the law is impossible if people do not have a voice to speak for them in court. Legal aid lawyers are frequently the only voice for the low-income litigants in Madison County who are victims of domestic violence, who are facing unlawful eviction, who are faced with foreclosure or whose disability benefits are threatened with attachment." In addition, the offices of Heyl Royster in Edwardsville were recognized for expanding the work of Land of Lincoln by volunteering to take on 15 pro bono cases this year. Land of Lincoln is a not-for-profit corporation providing free civil legal services to low income persons and senior citizens in 65 Counties in Southern and Central Illinois. The new Alton office provides direct service for seven counties including Madison, Bond, Jersey, Greene, Calhoun, Macoupin and Montgomery. Alton's Private Bar Involvement program also reaches out to residents of Adams, Brown, Hancock, Pike and Shuyler counties.