Legal aid during the COVID-19 crisis

• COVID-19

If you or someone you know is in neeed of free or low cost legal assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, please contact the following:

CARPLS Legal Aid Hotline for legal information, advice and referrals for Cook County residents, 312-738-9200.

Land of Lincoln Legal Aid, for free legal assistance in southern and central Illinois, 1-877-342-7891.

Prairie State Legal Services, for free legal assistance in northern and western Illinois, 1-800-531-7057.

Illinois Armed Forces Legal Aid Network, for free legal assistance for veterans, active service members, reservists and their dependents, 1-855-452-3526.

Illinois Legal Aid Online, for online legal research, forms, guidance and statewide legal aid directory.

Illinois Free Legal Answers a virtual legal clinic where low-income Illinois residents can submit a question online to ask a lawyer for help with a civil legal issue.

COVID-19 Grocery Store Hours

Below is information from the Illinois Retail Merchants Association. The Store Hours and Designated Shopping for Senior Citizens are subject to change.

ALDI
On Tuesdays and Thursdays our stores will open early at 8:30 a.m. for senior citizens, expectant mothers and those with underlying health concerns. Otherwise, ALDI stores across the country will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. for the general public. Some stores may have limited hours to accommodate restocking and cleaning.

Caputo’s
On Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays our stores will be open to seniors and those that are immunocompromised from 6 a.m. to 7:30 a.m.

Costco
Stores are operating with normal hours.

CVS
Stores and pharmacies are operating with normal hours.

Dollar General
Dollar General’s first hour of operations each day will be dedicated solely to the shopping needs of senior customers. Stores will also close an hour earlier in order for employees to clean and restock shelved.

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Lightford attends the opening of Salon Maya and Hope Barber College

• Youth

Senate Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford (D-Maywood) attended the opening of Salon Maya and Hope Barber College Thursday. The work Salon Maya and Hope Barber College are doing will have a major impact on the lives of young people who want to move past their mistakes and not have to carry it for the rest of their lives. These facilities are a part of Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice’s youth centers which assist youth in successfully transitioning back into the community and prevent the chances of reoffending.

Lightford announces plan to allow older adults to petition for parole

CHICAGO – Senate Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford (D-Maywood) announced legislation on Wednesday that would establish parole opportunities for older adults.

“Older adults who have served 20 to 30-year sentences deserve an opportunity to have their case heard before a parole board,” Lightford said. “If they no longer pose a risk to public safety, they should be granted parole and have the opportunity to live out the rest of their lives.”

Senate Bill 2114 would allow those who have reached age 60 and have been incarcerated 20 consecutive years or greater, or people who have served 30 consecutive years or greater, to petition the Prisoner Review Board seeking parole. The legislation also provides that victims and/or their families are notified in a timely manner and given the opportunity to participate in the hearing.

The PRB hearings would be conducted by a panel of at least eight members of the board requiring a majority vote of the panel to grant the petition and release the petitioner on parole. If the petition is denied, the board would be required to submit a statement including when the petitioner is eligible to reapply for parole, which could not be more than 3 years after the denial.

Since 1978, Illinois law prohibits discretionary parole, and remains one of sixteen states that doesn’t offer incarcerated people a means to earn parole.

According to Citizens for Parole, the lack of parole in Illinois has played a role in quadrupling the prison population from 10,000 to approximately 40,000. There are 7,000 men and women with sentences that will result in a stay until their death, which costs the Department of Corrections approximately $490,000 annually.