Northern Illinois University College of Law will launch a new Housing Justice Clinic in partnership with the Illinois Supreme Court, expanding access to legal services for individuals and families facing housing-related legal challenges while providing NIU Law students with meaningful hands-on experience.
The new clinic is one of three being established through an unprecedented initiative and partnership announced by Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice P. Scott Neville, Jr. The clinics at NIU College of Law, the University of Illinois College of Law and Southern Illinois University Simmons Law School will serve clients facing matters such as eviction, mortgage foreclosure and other housing-related legal issues.
“Today, throughout Illinois, people enter our courthouses with serious problems. They may be about to lose their home. Families may be in trouble. Livelihoods may be at stake,” Chief Justice Neville said in announcing the initiative. “Despite having a valid claim or defense, they may have no idea how to assert it. We sometimes talk about access to justice as though opening the courthouse doors solves the problem. It doesn’t. A person can walk through those doors and still have no idea what to do next. That is where lawyers come in.”
The need for legal assistance in housing matters is significant across Illinois, particularly in communities where access to attorneys can be limited.
“The need is there, but we do not have enough lawyers to meet it,” Chief Justice Neville said. “In much of Illinois, the problem is finding a lawyer at all. Even where lawyers are nearby, legal representation remains out of reach for many residents. Imagine what these clinics will mean for people who otherwise might have nowhere to turn. A home, after all, is where a family gathers, where children sleep, where daily life unfolds.”
For NIU College of Law, the new clinic builds on its longstanding commitment to experiential education and service to the community.
“This initiative represents an extraordinary opportunity to advance two essential parts of our mission: preparing students to become skilled, compassionate lawyers and expanding access to justice for people in our communities,” said NIU Law Dean Cassandra L. Hill. “Our students will have the opportunity to work directly with clients facing some of the most consequential legal challenges of their lives, while helping ensure that individuals and families do not have to navigate the legal system alone. We are grateful to Chief Justice Neville and the Illinois Supreme Court for their leadership and for recognizing the important role our law schools can play in addressing this need.”
The initiative will bring additional resources to NIU Law, including a clinical faculty member, staff attorney and graduate assistant, along with funding for the clinic’s operations. The clinic will provide opportunities for NIU Law students to gain direct experience representing clients under the supervision of licensed attorneys.
The clinic will serve the DeKalb region and create experiential learning opportunities for students in NIU Law’s new part-time JD program in Naperville. The clinic will also collaborate with nonprofit legal services organizations, such as Prairie State Legal Services, to help connect clients with additional legal assistance and resources.
The three law schools will operate independent clinics while collaborating on opportunities such as training pro bono attorneys, sharing expertise and identifying broader areas for policy reform. The unique partnership brings together three of Illinois’ four public law schools in a coordinated effort to address a statewide access-to-justice need.
“Each of our institutions serves communities where access to legal services can be challenging, and none of us can address this need alone,” Dean Hill added. “This partnership allows us to combine our strengths while creating opportunities for our students, our legal community and, most importantly, the people we serve.”
NIU Law anticipates that its Housing Justice Clinic will open for the Fall 2027 semester.
