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REPORT
Department: Bureau of Economic Development
Report Title: Stout’s Independent Evaluation of Cook County’s Early Resolution Program
Report Period: January 2022-April 2026
Summary: Cook County Legal Aid for Housing and Debt (CCLAHD) is a groundbreaking program that has assisted more than 125,000 Cook County residents with eviction, foreclosure, and consumer debt cases since January 2022. Developed at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, CCLAHD is an innovative and nationally recognized partnership between the County, the Circuit Court of Cook County, The Chicago Bar Foundation, the Illinois Housing Development Authority, the City of Chicago, and many other government, legal, and community partners.
A new, independent evaluation report by global advisory firm Stout will provide an in-depth assessment of the CCLAHD Early Resolution Program (ERP) for eviction and consumer debt. The report will demonstrate the impact CCLAHD has on making the court process fairer and more accessible for unrepresented residents and helping prevent disruptive displacements. It will also highlight ERP’s cost-effectiveness and return-on-investment.
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