by Karen Alice Kloppe  Free legal assistance is available to qualifying older adults in priority civil cases based on available funding allocated to each of the 13 Area Agencies on Aging in the Illinois Aging Network under the Older Americans Act (OAA) of 1965, as amended. (Public Law 89–73 as amended through Public Law 116–131.) The goal is “to assist older individuals in understanding their rights, exercising choices, benefiting from services and opportunities authorized by law, and maintaining the rights of older individuals at risk of guardianship. See 42 USC 3058j(5) and 42 USC 3002(33) (defining the term “legal assistance”).

By Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias Everything we do at the Secretary of State’s office is centered around creating an environment of excellent customer service. Each day we look to make improvements to better achieve this goal. Our “Skip-the-Line Program” is an important step to improve the customer experience using a multi-pronged approach designed to eliminate the unpredictability of wait times at Driver and Motor Vehicle (DMV) facilities that Illinoisans have experienced for far too long.

 Each August, the Illinois Bar Journal features summaries of legislation passed by the Illinois General Assembly during the most recent spring session and that may be of interest to ISBA members. Compiled by the Illinois State Bar Association’s legislative affairs department, the IBJ’s annual Legislative Roundup includes new and amended statutes concerning such areas of law as family, real estate, trusts and estates, criminal, civil litigation, and more.   

 The cover story for the August Illinois Bar Journal brainstorms and examines ways attorneys can use artificial intelligence tools to market their practice, and do so ethically. Relying on the experience of Drew Vaughn, a former practicing attorney who now runs Chicago-based, lawyer-oriented Deviant Marketing, the article breaks down advice he delivered on this topic in a June Illinois State Bar Association CLE webcast.