Founded in 1994, the Citizen Advocacy Center is a 21 st century legal advocacy organization where community lawyers work with individuals, community groups, lawyers doing pro-bono work, students, and volunteers to take matters of public concern to the street, to the airwaves, to the electronic networks, and to the courts. CAC’s mission is to build democracy for the 21 st century by strengthening the citizenry’s capacities, resources, and institutions for self- governance. Our community lawyers train individuals and community groups in how to use the law and democratic participatory tools through individual assistance, educational brochures, workshops, and monitoring government entities for abuse of power.
We work with law student interns year-round through a hands-on program that provides practical experience. We typically host four to six law student interns each summer who work under the direction of a community lawyer. Students who want to investigate and analyze reports of what appear to be violations of the law, undemocratic public policies, and obstacles to civic participation should apply! If you have a public policy project that involves the law and building civic participation, we would be delighted to hear your suggestions.
Completing a legal internship with CAC is an excellent way to learn about how government really works. Our student interns develop traditional legal skills such as research, writing, and analysis but also develop “law plus” skills that are not taught in law school: making sense of state statutes and local codes as applied to real cases, documenting facts, analyzing public policy, making government and the law work for the people, making requests for government information, conducting interviews, coordinating press releases, and public speaking.
CAC has hosted law student interns from:
Case Western Reserve University
School of Law
Chicago-Kent College of Law
DePaul University College of Law
The George Washington Univ. Law School
Georgetown University Law Center
Harvard Law School
Indiana University, Maurer School of Law
John Marshall Law School
Loyola University Chicago School of Law
Marquette University Law School
Michigan State University College of Law
New York University School of Law
Northern Illinois University College of Law
Northwestern University School of Law
Syracuse University College of Law
University of Chicago Law School
University of Cincinnati College of Law
University of Dayton School of Law
University of Georgia School of Law
University of Hawaii, William S
Richardson, School of Law
University of Houston Law Center
University of Idaho College of Law
University of Illinois College of Law
University of Iowa College of Law
University of Michigan Law School
University of Minnesota Law School
University of Southern California, Gould
School of Law
University of Toledo College of Law
University of Wisconsin Law School
University of Pittsburgh School of Law
Vanderbilt University Law School
Vermont Law School
Washington University School of Law
182 N. York St., Elmhurst, IL 60126 www.CitizenAdvocacyCenter.Org P (630)833-4080 ~ F (630)833-4083

The following list presents a sampling of the types of issues and projects that require assistance from legal interns. To learn more, visit our website at www.CitizenAdvocacyCenter.org.
Government Audits
On a yearly basis, CAC audits how public bodies comply with various state laws: procurement policies. Interns assist clients in researching these issues.
FOIA, OMA, data retention practices, and much more. Interns implement audits, analyze the results, and may distribute the results in a press conference. Often times, legislation is introduced to amend laws or public bodies amend policies based on the
CAC’s audits. Visit the website to learn about previous topics.
TIF Districts (Tax Increment Financing)
Tax increment financing (“TIF”) is easy money for municipal redevelopment - but at whose expense? Based on our previous litigation, the monitoring of TIF projects, and citizen calls, we have seen municipalities abuse the state law by improperly designating areas as “blighted”
Illinois Election Code
The Illinois Election Code deprives people of access to the ballot because reasonable people cannot comprehend its provisions without experienced election legal assistance. Hostile ballot-access provisions need to be removed through legal challenges. CAC seeks to suggest citizenso that they may create a TIF district. TIF redevelopment operates to increase the equalized assessed valuation of property/commercial development in a blighted area, and thus theoretically generates increased property tax and sales tax revenues for the municipality.
CAC studies TIFs and their effects on municipalities’ funding sources for schools, friendly reforms and interns investigate ways to challenge unnecessary disincentives to participation in the election process either as a candidate or as a referendum/initiative petition circulator, and to make suggested changes to the code.
Additional election issues CAC interns investigate include increasing electoral choices on the ballot, recall, impeachment, and greater initiative and referendum powers. CAC researches issues relative to election administration as well as the quasijudicial local electoral boards that hear challenges to candidate petitions and petitions for referenda.
Local Government
Illinois has more than 6,000 units of government - more than any other state!
What are all of these government entities doing? Clients interested in knowing the answer to a question that relates to a local government body contact CAC every day.
Some of their issues include budget approval parks, and other local taxing districts.
CAC interns assist in investigating the abuse of TIFs and develop guidelines for citizens and elected officials who are questioning the municipal use of TIF districts and their tax liability or benefit.
Answering Citizen Intake Questions
CAC answers more than 500 calls a year from concerned citizens asking about issues of public concern. Interns answer questions, help organize community campaigns, and help citizens understand the law. This is hands-on experience in helping members of the community become active and engaged citizens.
Educational Brochures
CAC has dozens of educational brochures that educate the public about important laws that impact citizens every day. Interns update current brochures, and create new brochures on complex legal issues. To view current educational brochures, visit the processes and potential pitfalls for waste and duplicated services; government salaries, pensions, and benefits; and ethics codes and website.

Case Briefings
CAC needs interns to brief Illinois cases and attorney general opinions relating to various issues that present themselves pertaining to the Freedom of Information
Act, Open Meetings Act, Illinois Election
Code, the Citizen Participation Act, and more.
Democracy Workshops
CAC hosts community programs that stimulate community discussion on issues of public significance. CAC needs interns to choose topics of interest and prepare community workshops. Past programs have included campaign finance reform, social security reform, recent Supreme Court decisions, and dozens of other topics.
Local Zoning
“Tear downs” and sprawl are a common occurrence. How do local governments and community members come together on these issues? How are vacant lots and redeveloped properties taxed while they are unoccupied? How do communities account for affordable housing, and how do Illinois
TIF laws compare to those in other states in retaining and increasing affordable housing?
CAC needs an intern to examine all of these issues, and to prepare and present workshops and brochures for the community.
Youth Civic Education
Civic education is not taught in Illinois, leading to youth who are uninformed about how communities operate or how to address an issue they care about. CAC has a vast youth civic education project, called the
Civic Empowerment Zone, and we need interns to work with community lawyers to create hands-on projects and programs that teach youth what it means to be a “good citizen” in practice.
We have already converted more than 40 issues into civic lesson plans, but we need help in expanding the program, in identifying how to systemically reform
Illinois school curricula to include civic education, and in organizing stakeholders to make their voices heard.
Litigation
CAC has argued cases in federal and state courts and has removed unconstitutional policies and practices at the local. We have also submitted amicus briefs in federal and state courts. While CAC views litigation as a last resort, law students actively participate in on-going CAC litigation.
Following the Money
CAC has completed a study of DuPage
County Procurement policies and procedures, as well as a study of campaign contributors to 71 elected officials from
DuPage County. The state of Illinois recently passed legislation banning ‘pay to play’ however, the legislation only applies to statewide contracts.