The Eighteenth Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Service Award will be presented to one or more lawyers practicing in the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit who have provided outstanding pro bono services to low-income individuals or charitable organizations in the last year. Nominations for these awards are now open.

You may submit a self-nomination or nominate a colleague, and you may also submit multiple nominations. The awards are intended to recognize pro bono legal services rendered in the last twelve months. The pro bono work may be performed through a legal aid agency or on your own so long as it meets the definition provided for in Illinois Supreme Court Rule 756*. It only takes 5-10 minutes to complete the nomination form.

Award recipients will be chosen by the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee and announced in late September. They will be recognized at the Spirit of Pro Bono Breakfast on October 24th.

The nominations deadline has been extended to Wednesday, September 14th. If you have any questions, please reach out to Jessica Schneider by email or at 312-832-5125.

PAST AWARD RECIPIENTS:

Ted Donner (2021)

Ted Donner has had an impactful presence in DuPage County as a leader and true champion of pro bono legal services. Ted wants to give back to the community and help those who could never afford his services while also leading by example in the DuPage County Bar Association. He was instrumental in launching the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee. He is an adjunct professor at Loyola University Chicago School of Law and has helped set up regular Illinois Free Legal Answers clinics with their students and alumni as well as at NIU College of Law with their students and alumni, helping to engage the next generation of lawyers in volunteerism. Among his many other notable contributions, Ted is a pillar of the DuPage eviction mediation program that will help residents at this pivotal time at the end of the eviction moratorium. He graduated from Loyola University Chicago School of Law in 1990, after receiving his bachelor’s degree from Roosevelt University. He currently runs his own practice, Donner & Company, which he opened in 2002.

Patrick Edgerton (2020)

Patrick is an invaluable member of the DuPage County Bar Association’s Ask-A-Lawyer program, volunteering every single month for 4 hours or more and sometimes bringing his father to help too. Pat is one of the strong pillars of the program, which provides a stable foundation to offer not only legal aid to the poor but also to offer hope. Patrick is a partner at Edgerton & Edgerton in West Chicago.

Ninette Gregory (2019)

*Illinois Supreme Court Rule 756(f) defines pro bono as: legal services without charge or expectation of a fee to persons of limited means; legal services to charitable, religious, civic, community, governmental or educational organizations in matters designed to address the needs of persons of limited means; legal services to charitable, religious, civic or community organizations in furtherance of their organizational purpose; or training intended to benefit legal aid organizations or lawyers who provide pro bono services. According to Rule 756(f), "persons of limited means" are not only those persons with household incomes below the federal poverty standard but also those persons frequently referred to as the “working poor.”