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At this critical moment for tenant rights and protections across Illinois, bringing on a new partnership is essential to strengthening Beyond’s capacity, expanding our reach, and ensuring that tenants have the support they need to win lasting victories.
After six incredible years of service, we bid a heartfelt farewell to Josh Taylor, who is stepping down from our Board of Directors. Since joining the board in 2019, Josh has been a steadfast leader, thoughtful advisor, and passionate advocate for our mission.
After decades of housing policy disproportionately favoring landlords in Illinois, a long-overdue shift is beginning to emerge – one that places greater emphasis on the rights and protections of tenants.
Housing is more than just a roof over our heads – it's a basic human right. This principle is enshrined in international law, most notably in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948, the UDHR affirms that everyone has the right to adequate housing, a place that supports dignity, health, and well-being.
Happy #DisabilityIndependenceDay! To celebrate, we are putting the spotlight on our community partner, Jane Addams Senior Caucus (JASC). JASC is a power building 501c3 that supports the leadership of Chicago-area seniors and tenant families to transform their housing and communities.
This #PrideMonth, we’re proud to spotlight our community partner, OCAD Chicago. Organized Communities Against Deportations (OCAD) is an undocumented-led group that organizes against deportations, detention, criminalization, and incarceration of Black, brown, and immigrant communities in Chicago and beyond.
Asylum protections for Community Members (CMs) are vital now more than ever, especially in light of recent policy shifts and heightened anti-immigrant rhetoric from the current administration. If you missed the first two installments of our asylum series, check them out here. Learn about the historical context of asylum in the United States and gain insight into how immigration attorneys navigate these complex cases.
To close off May, we wanted to take a moment to celebrate our Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Community Members. May is AANHPI Heritage month and to celebrate, we are putting the spotlight on our Community Partner (CP) Vietnamese Association of Illinois (VAI).
The US faces an unprecedented backlog—over 2 million asylum applications are pending, and this number is likely to climb with increased global violence and political unrest.
Happy #MayDay! To celebrate, we are putting the spotlight on our community partner, Arise Chicago. Arise is a worker power organization that organizes low-paid immigrant workers and their faith community allies to take power in workplaces and win public policy changes that uplift all workers.
Today we are spotlighting one of our community partners, Autonomous Tenants Union (ATU), for #FairHousingMonth. ATU is a tenant-led volunteer collective based in Albany Park
April is #ArabAmericanHeritageMonth, and to celebrate we wanted to spotlight Arab American Action Network (AAAN), one of Beyond’s community partners. AAAN is a nonprofit organization that strives to strengthen the Arab community in the Chicago area. AAAN does this by building community members’ capacity to be active agents for positive social change.
Today is National Farm Workers Day! This holiday commemorates labor activist and civil rights icon Cesar Chavez, whose fight to better the lives of the nation's farmworkers helped improve the inhumane working conditions of the vital, but often overlooked industry.
In honor of Women’s History Month, we wanted to put the spotlight on another Community Partner, Revolution Workshop (RW)! RW is a nonprofit whose goal is to create pathways in the construction industry for Black and Brown Community Members.
Seeking asylum is a human right - period. But now more than ever, it’s important to understand who can benefit from this and what the limitations are.
To celebrate #InternationalWomensDay, we are spotlighting one of our Community Partners, Healing to Action (HTA). HTA is ending gender-based violence by building the leadership and collective power of the communities who are most impacted, transforming the narrative of survivors from vulnerable “victims” to powerful leaders in the movement to end gender-based violence.
Marlon is a Community Member who came to the U.S. in 2024. At the border, he was forcibly fastened with an ankle monitor. Beyond this humiliating act, the device was burdensome: it was buckled too tight, which caused him great amounts of pain and, ultimately, made it difficult to walk.
Beyond is thrilled to celebrate #BlackHistoryMonth with community partner, SWOP Chicago. Sex Workers Outreach Project (SWOP Chicago) is a Black-led grassroots organization dedicated to providing direct aid and advocacy to current and former sex workers in the Chicagoland area.
With many of our community members currently living in fear, we thought there would be no better time than the present to expand our reach. Beyond Legal Aid is proud to announce that we have launched a new community partnership.
Rebeca is a Spanish-speaking community member that first came to Beyond in March 2021 as a referral through community partner, Mano a Mano Family Resource Center. At that time, she worried her legal team would not be able to communicate with her.
Americans have a right to safe, adequate housing, but for many Chicagoans, that right is something they have to fight for. Jae knew this reality all too well.
Norma is a new community member in Chicago. A mother hoping to secure fundamental rights for her and her family, she sought out immigration support from one of Beyond’s community partners, Enlace Chicago.
“I need people to know that I’m a successful business owner now. From having a record to owning a successful business,” said community member Daniel.
Dear Beyond Legal Aid community, On behalf of Beyond Legal Aid and its Board of Directors, I write to inform our community of a leadership transition at Beyond Legal Aid effective September 1, 2024.
Dear Beyond Community, After much deep reflection over the past few months, I have made the decision to step down as Co-Director of Beyond.
“I took a stand and I’m proud of myself,” said community member Joe*, after his case came to a close earlier this year. Joe came to Beyond through community partner, Blocks Together, in December 2022.
It’s often easy to overlook certain privileges, but community member, Pablo, will always be grateful for the privilege of US citizenship.
Ina is a community member that worked with Beyond Legal Aid in 2023 through our partnership with Jane Addams Senior Caucus, but that is not when her story begins. Ina is an Ashkenazi Jewish woman, which puts her at a significantly higher risk of getting breast cancer.
Beyond Legal Aid is thrilled to announce the launch of our newest partnership with Chicago Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee (CIWOC) in this new year! CIWOC is Beyond’s 9th activism partner, bringing an exciting addition to our 22 total partnerships!
While Illinois continues to introduce policies to better protect tenants, the housing crisis remains far from resolved. The lack of affordable, available housing still affects renters across the state in serious and lasting ways.