Durbin Announces More Than $1 Million in DOJ Funding to Enhance Illinois' Justice System

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has recently awarded a total of $1,089,638 in grants to support the establishment or enhancement of several justice system programs in Illinois. These programs provide support and services to a number of Illinois communities through research and education initiatives, as well as legal assistance and support services.

The following Illinois entities and programs will receive funding:

• Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago, Chicago, IL: $500,000 in funding has been awarded to Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago to support their Immigrant Survivor’s Project, which offer legal representation and support services to battered immigrant women. The grant is made available through the Legal Assistance for Victims Program, a set aside from the STOP Violence Against Women Formula Grants Program. The Immigrant Survivors Project will use this funding to provide legal assistance to approximately 1,500 cases involving immigration legal remedies, child support, child custody or orders of protection.

• Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, Chicago, IL: $589,638 in funding has been awarded to the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority for the Illinois Innocence Project at the University of Illinois in Springfield. The grant was made available through the Post-Conviction DNA Testing Assistance Program. The Illinois Innocence Project has previously focused on cases in downstate Illinois, and will use this funding to expand its efforts to cases in the northern part of the state. This grant will allow the Illinois Innocence Project to identify, review, and investigate cases in northern Illinois to determine the strength of DNA evidence and to arrange for DNA testing when it appears crucial to verifying a claim of actual innocence.

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