The Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Access to Justice (ATJ Commission) is being recognized for its work in making the court system easier to navigate for self-represented litigants.
The ATJ Commission will be honored with the Justice Innovation Award from the Law Center for Better Housing (LCBH) during its 2024 Fall Benefit on October 17. LCBH is a Chicago-based legal aid organization focused on housing justice.
The award highlights the ATJ Commission’s standardized, plain language forms project, which has automated and translated court forms and streamlined the filing process to ensure they are easy-to-use for self-represented litigants and other court users across the state.
The forms were developed by the ATJ Commission’s Forms Committee and 13 drafting subcommittees, including one focused on eviction. The Forms Committee is chaired by Jackson County Judge Michael Fiello and Cook County Circuit Court Judge Catherine Schneider.
ATJ Commission and eviction forms
Eviction forms were among the redesigned statewide standardized form sets released by the ATJ Commission in January 2024. The form set includes eviction complaint documents, eviction orders, and templates for agreements between landlords and tenants, among others.
The Forms Committee and its Eviction Subcommittee spent years developing forms for use in the eviction process, according to the press release.
With the new eviction answer and eviction sealing forms, self-represented litigants now have access to the tools they need to respond to an eviction case filed against them and to ask the court to remove an eviction case from the public record after it is completed, the press release said.
Judge Fiello noted in the press release that he has seen the forms being used by self-represented litigants and attorneys in the courthouse, “which is a testament to the fact that the Forms Committee is meeting its goal of creating easy-to-use, legally sufficient forms.”
The ATJ Commission has prioritized updating standardized forms to promote and enhance equal access to justice in Illinois, in accordance with its 2023-2028 Strategic Plan.
The Innovation Award will also recognize other ATJ Commission programs and services, including Illinois Court Help, Language Access, Disability Access, and Appellate Resource.
For a list of standardized statewide court forms that have been approved by the ATJ Commission, click here.
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