CBA Record September-October 2025

THE YOUNG LAWYERS SECTION

The “Big Beautiful Bill” and the Future of Pro Bono Legal Services Gavin Phelps, CIPP/US, YLS Chair

CBA YOUNG LAWYERS SECTION Chair Gavin Phelps Circuit Court of Cook County First Vice Chair Aleksandra Petrovi c Damisch & Damisch, Ltd. Second Vice Chair Bianca Ciarroni Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP Armstrong Teasdale LLP Philanthropy Officer Pam Sran Fox Rothschild Secretary/Treasurer Andre Hunter, Jr. Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani Program Officers Deepa Singh US Patent and Trademark Office Cha’yra Eddie Levenfeld Pearlstein, LLC Inclusion & Engagement Officer Joshua Epstein Goldberg Kohn Co-Editors of the YLS Journal J. Kopczyk Attorney at Law Katherine Hanson First District Appellate Court Co-Editors of the CBA Blog Recruitment Officer Stephanie Moon

www.cbo.gov/publication/61461. Fundamentally, the Bill makes mas sive cuts to the Legal Services Corpora tion—the federally funded independent nonprofit organization that helps finance local legal aid groups across the country. According to Chicago Sun Times colum nist Mariah Rush, “Without [LSC], the entire legal aid ecosystem in Illinois would be at risk.” As Americans risk losing their health insurance, income, housing, and work, the demand for legal aid services will increase. These problems are sys temic. A missed form can trigger eviction; a frozen benefit can bring health crises or guardianship emergencies (https://chi cago.suntimes.com/money/2025/06/20/ illinois-18m-legal-aid-chicago-lsc-fund ing-trump-budget). Pro bono legal aid helps improve the economy. New York State Bar Associa tion President Kathleen Sweet noted the impact of pro bono legal aid when she called upon her association’s members to save the LSC. “When someone escapes domestic violence, avoids foreclosure, is not saddled with debt they do not owe or receives wages they have earned, the posi tive economic impact ripples outward.” (Susan Desantis, NYSBA President Calls on Members to Help Save the Legal Services Corporation, Jul. 3, 2025, https://nysba. org/nysba-president-calls-on-members-to help-save-the-legal-services-corporation/). It’s easy to understand why this is so. Without legal aid, an unpaid parking ticket can lead to an impounded vehi cle, missing work, termination, inability to pay rent, and possibly homelessness. Helping that person appeal that parking ticket can prevent a cascade effect in both one’s life and the economy as a whole.

I n July 2025, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, H.R. 1, became law. The Speaker of the House called it “the bill of the hardworking American people.” Mike Johnson touted: [It will] save $1.6 trillion for the American people. … It really will be jet fuel to the economy and every one will benefit. We’re estimating the average American will have an additional $10,000 take home pay because of this. Mike Johnson, One Big Beautiful Bill is the Most Conservative Legislation We’ve Ever Worked On, Jul. 1, 2025, https:// mikejohnson.house.gov/news/documen tsingle.aspx?DocumentID=2636. Yet Chicago is already witnessing the opposite, with pro bono legal services experiencing a surge in demand. It is estimated that the Bill will cause a 3% increase in the number of people without health insurance, a $3 trillion increase to the national deficit, and the loss of up to 4% of annual income for the bottom 10% of earners. Cong. Budget Off., Estimated Budgetary Effects of H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Jul. 20, 2025, https://

Sara Shiffman Attorney at Law

Hannah Werner MacDonald, Lee & Senechalle, Ltd Immediate Past Chai r Kenneth A. Matuszewski Rozier Hardt McDonough PLLC

30 September/October 2025