As more and more litigants choose to represent themselves, Illinois courts continue their effort to adapt to this "new normal" (see the October 2017 IBJ cover story.) One such adaptation is a program launched by the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Access to Justice late last year that gives grants to 13 judicial circuits to help them better serve pro se litigants and manage their impact on the justice system.

In its November 29, 2017 e-Newsletter, the supreme court stated, "The vast majority of self-represented litigants are not self-represented by choice…. [S]elf-represented litigants - many who have little or no prior experience with the judicial system - pose a number of challenges for circuit clerks, judges, court staff, and other litigants, as well as for themselves." (Read the court's statement at https://bit.ly/2A1uGrl.)

The grant program's goal "is to create, train, and support a statewide network of Self-Represented Litigant Coordinators…based in courthouses across Illinois." The 13 grant-recipient circuits are the first, third, eighth, tenth, twelfth, fourteenth, fifteenth, sixteenth, seventeenth, nineteenth, twenty-first, twenty-second, and Cook County.

The grants were awarded through a request-for-proposal process. Circuits were required to submit a narrative explaining county-specific needs and a budget outlining how the money would be spent. The awards ranged from $5,000 to $15,000 for individual projects for a total of $90,000. Each circuit is using its funds differently to address its specific needs. Find out more in the May Illinois Bar Journal.