On the morning of June 20th, CGLA organized a Records Relief Seminar for individuals actively seeking to overcome their past and make a better life for themselves. Chicago-based energy company Exelon sent 75 attorneys and support staff to LaSalle Street Church’s Cornerstone Center. There they teamed up with attorneys from the law firm Skadden Arps and staff from CGLA, The Cara Program, Housing Opportunities for Women, the Salvation Army, Access Community Health, and County Clerk Dorothy Brown’s Office. Together these groups provided legal and ancillary services to over 60 people seeking to clear or mitigate past criminal records.
In addition to individual consultation on their legal options, attendees were able to attend resume writing workshops, learn about their legal rights, and discover other health and employment services available to them as they worked to turn their lives around for the better. It was a unique event that brought the business and legal community, county officials, and non-profits together to serve. Each of these sectors has a role to play in improving people’s lives, and each is more effective when clients are supported in taking advantage of what the others have to offer.