Illinois Legal Aid Online

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
202917133
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Phone
3129779047
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Legal Services

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,619,953
Expenses
$3,086,560
Assets
$3,309,647
Liabilities
$196,026

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

21 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • GWENDELYN DANIELS (DEPUTY DIREC): $147,447 total reported compensation
  • TERESA ROSS (EXECUTIVE DR): $143,963 total reported compensation
  • JESSICA GAVLIN (CHIEF FISCAL): $59,169 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

We open opportunities for justice.

What it reported doing in 2024

To people lying awake at night, with nowhere to turn except their mobile, ilao offers a light in the night. Over half of those we serve come from their mobile phones, and between 5pm-9am or on weekends, when traditional legal offices are closed. Ilao partners with illinoisans facing injustices by providing 24/7 free, accessible, plain-language legal tools and direction, including plain-language self-help guides, interactive legal forms, triage and eligibility screening for free legal aid services, and know-your-rights education. In fy25, 2 million illinoisansapproximately 15% of the states population sought illinoislegalaid.org for guidance and help with over 600 legal issues, such as eviction, food insecurity, domestic abuse, criminal records, divorce, child support, deportation, discrimination, and debt. Our highest volume of services relates to family law, where people without lawyers most commonly encounter our complex legal system, and where they are least likely to find a legal aid lawyer to assist them. In addition to its library of civil legal education and solutions, ilao provides other important services. First, interactive apps called easy forms, similar to turbotax, help people without lawyers create free, personalized, accurate court forms and legal papers, using a simple question-and-answer format. In fy25, 88,636 people customized more than 160,000 legal documents (a 54% increase over fy24). Second, a triage, intake, and referral system (get legal help) directs peoplevia internet or smsto the best available resources: forms, self- help guides, lawyers, and human service providers. For people seeking a lawyers help, ilao matches them with local services based on an individuals legal issue, zip code, and general income. In fy25, ilao matched almost 12,000 eligible applicants to 12 legal providers.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 91% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 74
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 55
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 70.4%; rating input score 70
  • Program expense ratio: 81.9%; rating input score 82
  • Fundraising efficiency: $25.76 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 14.7%; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.07; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11.4%; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.6% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8.7% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.1% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 4 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 70.4% of revenue deployed · 81.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 18 of 18 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $2.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $147K · 21 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $353K reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 39/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 26/100.