Illinois SB 3500: AOIC GRANTS-LEGAL DESERTS

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104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY 
State of Illinois 
2025 and 2026
SB3500

Introduced 2/5/2026, by Sen. Javier L. Cervantes 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act

 Creates the Legal Deserts Act. Provides that, subject to appropriation, the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts may establish a program to provide grants or reimbursements to compensate an individual lawyer or law firms that relocate or open an office within a geographic area for the purpose of providing legal services to individuals residing within a legal desert. Provides that the grants or reimbursements may cover marketing expenses, compensation for an attorney or up to 2 attorneys per firm, or other eligible expenses identified by the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts.

LRB104 19720 JRC 33170 b

A BILL FOR

SB3500LRB104 19720 JRC 33170 b

1 AN ACT concerning courts.

2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 

3represented in the General Assembly:

4 Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Legal 

5Deserts Act.

6 Section 5. Legislative intent. The General Assembly finds 

7that:

8 (1) The United States has more than 1.3 million 

9 lawyers, but the vast majority are concentrated in urban 

10 centers, which leaves many rural counties with few, if any 

11 lawyers. These areas are often referred to as "legal 

12 deserts".

13 (2) Residents in need of assistance with legal 

14 matters, including, but not limited to, real estate 

15 transfers, wills, family law matters, and criminal issues 

16 often face uncertainty and inability to find a local 

17 option and may turn to self-help or online tools. Online 

18 tools and artificial intelligence products offer limited 

19 personalized assistance but cannot replace the knowledge