Innovating: ILAO year by year

2001 - March 8

Illinois Legal Aid Online (ILAO) starts as "Illinois Technology Center for Law and the Public Interest" with Chicago-Kent College of Law as its fiscal sponsor.

55% of American Adults use the internet

56% of U.S. Households own a computer

6 months later, AppleⓇ releases the iPodⓇ; one month after the iPod launch, September 11 changes America irrevocably

2003

The year after launching the first full iterations of IllinoisLegalAid.org, IllinoisProbono.org, and IllinoisLegalAdvocate.org, the websites log 297,000 visits

SkypeⓇ launches its service

The iTunesⓇ Music Store opens for business

2005

ILAO, as a newly independent non-profit, launches the IllinoisLegalAid.org version that served as ILAO's primary website for 10 years; it featured a smart search and a library of GuideMe modules that have been a model for other states.

68% of American Adults use the internet

ILAO’s websites log 583,000 visits

Google launches mapping services, an internet phone program, and an effort to digitize books from some of the world’s largest libraries

2006

ILAO wins the first Technology Leadership Award presented by Accenture and Lumity for www.IllinoisLegalAid.org

Nintendo Wii and XBox 360 launch

FacebookⓇ opens to anyone over the age of 13

ILAO partners with Illinois Coalition for Equal Justice (ICEJ) to develop and establish technology- based legal self-help centers in county courthouses and public libraries across Illinois

2007

ILAO hires its first Easy Forms manager to build out a library of automated document interviews, which now generates 80,000 personalized legal documents per year

The iPhoneⓇ is released in June, bringing about the smartphone revolution

Illinois Senator Barack Obama announces his bid for the U.S. Presidency

2008

ILAO's websites log over one million visits

74% of U.S. adults own a computer or laptop

44% of Americans own a smartphone

Blockchain goes live, supports the launch of Bitcoin

Tesla releases its first electric car

2009

ILAO launched its LiveHelp chat program to help users find what they need to seek justice. This program continues today - a team of 50+ volunteers help more than 100 website users per day find answers and tools they seek to exercise their legal rights

82% of Americans own cell phones

Americans send 1.56 billion text messages

In November, WhatsAppⓇ launches

2010

ILAO receives the ABA Louis M. Brown Award for Legal Access and the Paul H. Chapman Award for significant contribution to the improvement of access to justice in America.

In October, InstagramⓇ starts its social media app

The Subprime mortgage crisis peaks with 2.9 million foreclosures nationwide

2012

ILAO launches a Spanish-language website AyudaLegalIL.org, mirroring ILAO's English version. ILAO’s Spanish-language legal services continue to be some of the most robust found anywhere in the country.

83% of American Adults use the internet

88% of Americans own a cell phone

ILAO and ICEJ now support Legal Self-Help Centers in 98 of Illinois' 102 counties. ILAO's LiveHelp program receives LivePerson's Connection Award.

2013

ILAO received the Innovation Award in the Pro Bono category for outstanding achievement in integrating technology into legal work to help lawyers deliver services to clients. The system is now a part of ILAO's Get Legal Help tool, one of the most robust triage and intake systems for legal services in the nation.

70% of American Adults have home broadband

58% of U.S. Adults own smartphones

Ring doorbell gets introduced on Shark Tank

Zoom is released

2015

On January 1, the Illinois Criminal Identification Act takes effect, significantly expanding the types of convictions that can be sealed; ILAO’s criminal records tools see an 82% increase in 2015-2016, over the prior period.

Two-thirds (66%) of U.S. Adults own a smartphone

Americans send 1.98 billion text messages

Hoverboard scooters are all the rage

2016

ILAO unveils a new logo and the new IllinoisLegalAid.org, consolidating 5 websites into a single, mobile-friendly portal and migrating its platform from a dying technology (ColdFusion) to a vibrant, global one (Drupal)

73% of U.S. Adults own a smartphone

88% of American Adults use the internet

The cash-exchange app VenmoⓇ hits the big time

2017

IllinoisLegalAid.org is featured as the ‘best in show’ by the ABAJournal

ILAO’s new Crime Victim Portal wins Best in Show award for the Chicago Bar Association's Legal Tech Innovator Showcase

Nintendo SwitchⓇ is released

2019

2.99 million people use IllinoisLegalAid.org to find solutions to their legal problems, such as divorce, deportation, worker's rights, and disability rights

90% of American Adults use the internet

100% of American Adults age 18-29 use the internet

96% of Americans own a cell phone

Americans send 2.1 billion text messages

1.52 billion smartphones are sold in U.S.

2020

In March, the pandemic hits Illinois. In the weeks and months following the Governor's shelter-in-place order, Illinois use of ILAO's services increases 41%; use of ILAO's Spanish services increases 64% (compared to the prior period).

Use of ILAO's LiveHelp (chat) service doubles once COVID hits Illinois; LiveHelp serves an average of 100 people per day, guiding people to the most relevant answers to their legal questions.

63% of Illinois users find ILAO via mobile, 1.34 million people

79% of Spanish-language users find ILAO on their mobile, nearly 400,000 people

2022

ILAO ends its year-long, 20th Anniversary Celebration on March 7.

Illinois zip code map colored in by ILAO use at 90%

ILAO served people from 90% of Illinois' residential zip codes.

one cutout human figure leapfrogs over the line of others

ILAO completes an 8-month strategic planning process, its most comprehensive yet.

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