Legal Action Chicago

09/18/2026

If you didn't see it yourself earlier this week, the latest 2025 Census data on poverty show some progress. Poverty improved, incomes rose as wage gains outpaced inflation, and the uninsured rate remained near historic lows. But significant challenges remain, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP):

*More than 44 million people — including 9.7 million children — lived in families below the poverty line in 2025.

*27 million people were uninsured.

*After-tax income inequality reached its highest level in at least 17 years.

The CBPP's report on the new data also highlights the role of programs like SNAP, Medicaid, ACA marketplace coverage, Social Security, and refundable tax credits in helping families afford food, health care, and other basic needs. According to CBPP, SNAP lifted more than 3 million people above the poverty line in 2025, while refundable tax credits lifted 6 million.

For Legal Action Chicago, these numbers reinforce why access to food, health care, and economic supports matters — especially for children and families facing financial hardship.

Read the full analysis:

At a moment when the cuts enacted in last year’s harmful Republican reconciliation law have begun to take away food assistance and health coverage from millions of people, today’s Census data are a reminder of the important role Medicaid, Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace coverage, and SNAP ...

09/17/2026

Want to learn more about how low-income families can save money on their utility bills? Join Legal Action Chicago and the Illinois Association of Community Action Agencies on October 27, 2026 at 10 a.m. for a brief webinar to learn more about critical cost-reducing programs, how they work, and how to qualify.

Click the link below to sign up for the event, or, reach out to Daniel Schneider at [email protected]

https://iacaanet-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/rXF2nVPvTPiiu0VRqjMPeA

09/16/2026

Don't forget to join us for our Fall reception on October 15, 2026! In the past few years, Legal Action Chicago has helped reduced low-income families' utility bills by hundreds of millions of dollars, won class action lawsuits to improve fair housing practices, and passed numerous state laws to help domestic violence survivors, people struggling with credit card debt, and more. But you can still help us to do even more with even a small contribution.

Learn more and register for the event here: https://legalactionchicago.org/annual-reception/

09/16/2026

Legal Action Chicago was pleased to contribute to the proposed primary settlement of Nicor Gas' recent rate case. While not going far enough to stop constantly-rising costs for consumers, it represents a reasonable step forward that (i) reduces the gas utility's profits by over $70 million, (ii) reduces the flat charge consumers pay to just $15 per month, and (ii) overall only results in a $2 per month rate increase, rather than the $6 per month the Company originally asked for, with all new costs coming from necessary infrastructure investment and not excessive profits.

Learn more about the deal in the Chicago Tribune:

Nicor Gas has reached a settlement with Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office to reduce its pending rate request for next year by nearly $140 million, or 63%.

09/04/2026

Workers have a right to fair wages, safe working conditions, and freedom from abusive immigration enforcement that can make them afraid to report violations of the law or even come to work. Period.

This Labor Day, at Legal Action Chicago, we’ll be thinking about how the ability to assert one’s rights shouldn’t depend on whether an employer thinks their employee can afford to push back.

08/21/2026

Access to water is a human right, but, unfortunately, that right is often only afforded to the people who can pay for it.

Since 2024, we have campaigned with the Water for All Coalition to expand access to Chicago's utility billing relief program and improve communities' access to water.

The goals of the Water for All Coalition are to:
- Increase income eligibility for the program from 200 to 250% of the poverty line
- Open up the program to people living in buildings with up to 5 units
- Ban the use of liens on real estate as a water debt collection tool

These changes, supported by a coalition that includes Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation (SOUL), the Chicago Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and Blackroots Alliance, would help to ensure more families in the City can afford an essential service.

Currently, Alderman Daniel La Spata is carrying this ordinance, which we hope will be heard by the Committee on Environmental Protection and Energy on September 1, 2026 at 10am.

08/13/2026

Yesterday, along with Illinois PIRG and the City of Chicago, we asked, in a brief, that the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) reject Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas’s proposed 10.10% return on equity (ROE), which is the authorized profit it earns that is baked into all customers’ natural gas bills.

Instead, we are asking the ICC to set the utilities’ ROE at 8.90%, which would save customers millions of dollars per year. It’s more than enough for People's Gas and North Shore Gas to attract investment and be financially stable without unfairly burdening customers by making them pay for excess profits that only benefits shareholders.

Affordability matters now more than ever. Customers ultimately take on the financial burden of paying for the cost of these public utilities’ authorized profits. We believe that there should be an equal field, where utility companies get a fair return, but never so high that it makes it harder for consumers to afford necessary utilities.

Read the brief here:

08/12/2026

Check out this article on the tangible impact of Kidd v. Pappas -- the federal class action lawsuit we filed challenging Cook County's failure to provide just compensation for individuals who lose their homes, through predatory tax-buying, for failing to pay property taxes. The court found that the County's failure violated the fifth amendment and that the County is financially liable for its constitutional violations.

Now, Illinois has a new law to phase out tax buying by 2030. Read here to learn more:

After Evanston homeowner Goyce Rates fell behind on her property taxes, two tax buyers in 2019 purchased liens on the home’s two parcels for a total of $9,025. By 2023, she was unable to redeem her property for the cost of back taxes and interest, enabling the buyers to win deeds for the property ...

08/06/2026

Thousands of Illinoisans lost their SNAP benefits this year due to expanded work rules, but a new program, FRESH, is providing benefits to help to families impacted. Learn more about this program in some of these recent articles:
- https://www.nbcchicago.com/consumer/thousands-of-illinois-residents-will-receive-400-in-benefits-in-a-matter-of-days/3968081/-
- https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/illinois-400-payment-snap-benefit-loss
- https://chicago.suntimes.com/health/2026/07/30/illinois-snap-recipients-kicked-off-the-federal-food-program-are-getting-400-from-the-state

08/05/2026

Save the date! On October 15th, Legal Action Chicago will be hosting our 2nd Annual Reception. Join us for an evening of connection, conversation, and impact among supporters, partners, and advocates from across Chicago’s legal, civic, and advocacy communities. The program will feature remarks from keynote speaker David Axelrod, along with opportunities to connect with leaders across the legal and public policy sectors.

Light hors d’oeuvres will be served, along with an open bar. Registration is free, and all are welcome!

Register here! https://legalactionchicago.org/annual-reception/