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Founded in 1994, the Citizen Advocacy Center (CAC) is a 21st century legal advocacy organization where community  lawyers work with individuals, community groups, lawyers doing pro bono work, students, and volunteers to take matters of public concern to the street, to the airwaves, to the electronic networks, and to the courts.  CAC’s mission is to build democracy for the 21st century by strengthening the citizenry’s capacities, resources, and institutions for self governance.  Our community lawyers train individuals and community groups in how to use the law and democratic participatory tools through individual assistance, citizen guides, workshops, and monitoring government entities for abuse of power.  All CAC services are free.
Our staff includes full-time community lawyers, support staff, volunteers, and interns from high schools, colleges, and law schools, who are dedicated to advancing our mission.
A community lawyer serves to protect the public's access to government resources by combining  traditional legal skills (legal research, legal policy analysis, litigation) with traditional civic skills (understanding governmental decision-making processes, organizing effective community groups, utilizing traditional and social media, building coalitions)
to resolve public issues of concern.
  • We educate and train individuals,  journalists, public officials, educators, and students in the laws and tools that ensure access to the democratic process as well as in how to take action to resolve a community based systemic issue of public concern.
  • We provide vast resources to engage, motivate, and empower public participation in the democratic process. 
  • We monitor government agencies for abuse of power and, when necessary, take action to deter public officials from acting contrary to the public good.
  • We advocate for policies that improve government transparency, accountability, and accessibility.  This includes litigation, only as a last resort and on behalf of select citizen causes, that can have a substantial impact on the democratic process.
  • Campaign Finance
  • Community Development
  • Election/Ballot Access
  • Ethics 
  • First Amendment
  • Freedom of Information (FOIA)
  • Government Budgets
  • Home Rule
  • Judicial Independence
  • Lobbying
  • Open Meeting Act (OMA)
  • Procurement
  • Redistricting 
  • Tax Increment Financing (TIF)
  • Teacher Education/Civic Engagement
  • Individuals and community groups with an  issue of public concern.  Members of the public request Center assistance when there are questions regarding how the government decision-making process happens on a particular issue, how to get information about an issue or how to impact government decision-making.  
  • Journalists interested in building their knowledge base or requesting  a comment on any of the issues related to any of the areas we address.  
  • Public Officials seeking to obtain more information about how government can operate in a more open, transparent and accountable manner.
  • Educators at the middle school,  high school, college, and law school levels seeking to infuse curriculum with real life, hands-on issues to inform students about what it means to be an engaged citizen living  in a democracy. 
Due to our location, our work is centered in the western and far western suburbs of Chicago.  However we also serve residents of  the greater Chicagoland area and the city of Chicago.  Our community lawyers are licensed to practice in Illinois. 
The Citizen Advocacy Center is a  501(c)(3) non-profit, non-partisan community based legal organization incorporated under the laws of the State of Illinois.  We are funded by individual donations and private foundation grants and do not accept government money or donations from current public officials in order to maintain our independence on the issues we address. We offer our services for free, but encourage donations.
While we have helped hundreds of citizen groups to organize around a particular community issue, the Citizen Advocacy Center  remains the only organization  in the United States that is an institution with a staff of community lawyers who protect public assets over an entire region.  The community lawyering concept was born out of  “The Office of the Community Lawyer” in Winsted, Connecticut, a one person community law office which for nearly 25 years has made the community of Winsted a vibrant democracy.  If you want information about how to set up a Citizen Advocacy Center in your community, contact us!
Yes.  We rely extensively on volunteers and interns.  If you care about cultivating a  healthier, more vibrant democracy and want to contribute your time, please call to ask about opportunities, or contact us.