CBA Record February_March 2016

(40-44 million) adults living in the U.S. are “functionally illiterate” and do not have adequate reading skills required for daily life. People in this group cannot understand instructions on a medicine container; read a newspaper article; or fill out an application for work, etc. Another 25-28% of the U.S. (about 50 million adults) has “low literacy” skills. About 93 million U.S. adults are in the “functionally illiterate” and/or “margin- ally illiterate” levels. Seventy percent of Americans deemed “functionally illiterate” cannot find employment and over 60% of low literacy adults have difficulty applying information from a text to a required task. More than 20% of the U.S. population reads at or below the fifth grade level and the median pay for people in this group is estimated at $240 per week. More than 70% of America’s prison population is in the two lowest literacy levels. Assessing the impact that low literacy has on business, 90% of America’s Fortune 1000 companies have said that low literacy hurts their productiv- ity and profitability. Ironically, most people who fall in the low literacy category are born in the U.S. with English being their primary language. Education is the wellspring that ensures opportunity for this and future generations

The Chicago Bar Association www.chicagobar.org OFFICERS President Patricia Brown Holmes Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila LLP First Vice President Daniel M. Kotin Tomasik Kotin Kasserman, LLC Second Vice President Hon. Thomas R. Mulroy Circuit Court of Cook County Secretary Jesse H. Ruiz Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP Treasurer Steven M. Elrod Holland & Knight LLP Executive Director Terrence M. Murphy Assistant Executive Director Elizabeth A. McMeen BOARD OF MANAGERS Karina Ayala-Bermejo

Pro Bono Support

Are you looking for a pro bono opportunity that

fits your skills, interests and availability? The

CBF Pro Bono Support Program is here to help

connect you to meaningful pro bono volunteer

opportunities that are a good fit for you.To learn

more about potential volunteer opportunities,

viewour Pro Bono Opportunities Guide at www.

chicagobarfoundation.org/resources/pro-bono.

Contact Angela Inzano at the CBF Pro Bono

Support Programat ainzano@chicagobar.org or

312/554-4952 for assistance getting involved or

for hard copies of the Guide.

of Americans. The Millennials have it right and we hope that theTown Hall on Educa- tional Equality will serve as a springboard for positive change in Illinois.

Ashly I. Boesche Thomas F. Boleky Chasity A. Boyce Hon. Maureen E. Connors Daniel A. Cotter Mary K. Curry James R. FortCamp Matthew T. Jenkins Natacha D. McClain Eileen M. O’Connor Matthew A. Passen Meredith E. Ritchie David J. Scriven-Young Hon. Amy J. St. Eve John T. Theis Nigel F. Telman Frank G. Tuzzolino Allison L. Wood

The law office of Amari & Locallo is pleased to announce its newest partners: Katherine A. O’Dell and Joseph F. Locallo III With offices in Chicago and Bloomingdale, Amari and Locallo is able to aggressively represent commercial, industrial, and multi-unit residential property owners in acquiring fair, equitable real estate tax assessments throughout the Cook and collar counties.

Bloomingdale Office 236 West Lake Street, Suite 100 Bloomingdale, Illinois 60108 Phone: 630•307•3700 / Fax: 630•307•3737 Chicago Office 734 North Wells Street Chicago, Illinois 60654 Phone: 312•255•8550 / Fax: 312•255•8551

8 FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016

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