Having access to a lawyer is the foundation of justice

Sixty-five years ago, Congress made May 1 Law Day to honor the rule of law. Every year, the American Bar Association picks a theme. This year’s theme is “The Rule of Law and the American Dream.”

The rule of law upholds the American dream by ensuring access to legal assistance. But many people end up in court without a lawyer, not by choice but due to circumstances. This places them at a disadvantage, as lawyers bring the skills and structure needed to present facts, explain issues and apply the law.

Our legal system relies on trained advocates. When only one side has a lawyer, or when neither side does, the system may not work as it should. The U.S. Supreme Court has recognized the central role of legal representation, “The right to counsel is the foundation for our adversary system.” This is often mentioned in criminal cases, but it extends with the same force to civil cases.

Indeed, appearing in court alone puts the American dream at risk. As Justice Thurgood Marshall once said, “Mere access to the courthouse doors does not by itself assure a proper functioning of the adversary process.”

The Illinois Supreme Court is addressing this gap by designing strategies to expand the availability of lawyers in communities with too few lawyers, advancing remote access to court hearings, simplifying legal procedures and revamping rules on mediation and arbitration to resolve disputes more efficiently.

Yet another effort involves Illinois Free Legal Answers, a virtual legal advice clinic where volunteer lawyers answer civil online legal questions for low-income Illinoisans. Our Commission on Access to Justice has been leading efforts to remove barriers that prevent people from using the courts in a meaningful way.

In criminal cases, where the stakes are highest, Illinois has strengthened representation for people accused of crimes with consistent standards and support across the state under the Funded Advocacy & Independent Representation, or FAIR, Act, which established a statewide Office of the State Public Defender.

This effort requires coordination across all three branches of government.

The legislature created the framework, the executive branch supports its operation, and the Illinois Supreme Court is helping guide its development.

Work is underway to line up funding, structure and operations for the Office of the State Public Defender’s launch on Jan. 1, 2027.

When people have access to a lawyer, they can be heard and their case can be fully presented. That is how the rule of law endures. That is how the American dream endures. Nothing else will do.

Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice P. Scott Neville, Jr.

Former Balkan leader isn’t fit to be university guest

Judson University will be on the fast track of abandoning the strong Christian values it claims it has been founded on if it welcomes Milorad Dodik, the former president of Republika Srpska — the Serb-run half of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Dodik is scheduled to be the featured guest Thursday at the university's World Leaders Forum, “Standing Up for Democracy." The Elgin institution is also expected to present Dodik with its "Leadership and Standing Up for Democracy Award" — an honor he doesn't deserve.

Just last year, Bosnia’s electoral authorities banned Dodik from holding public office for six years for defying rulings of the country's international envoy and the constitutional court.

Just as troubling, Dodik has persistently and publicly denied the 1995 genocide in Srebrenica committed by the Bosnian Serb Army, in spite of international rulings that say otherwise. Dodik has called the genocide a “fabricated myth” and mocked the families of the victims by saying Bosniaks keep burying "empty coffins." The latter comment is particularly cold-heartened since remains of many victims are scattered in different mass graves due to the deliberate efforts of Bosnian Serbs who tried to cover-up their crimes

Dodik has also consistently advocated secessionist policies that challenge the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and diligently worked hard to try and join the Republika Srpska with Serbia, a country that engaged in ethnic cleansing in the 1990s and is accused of other widespread crimes during that bloody period in the region.

I believe Judson University would never be able to come across such a marginal person as Dodik if disgraced former Gov. Rod Blagojevich didn't start lobbying for Republika Srpska and the interests of Dodik.

It is up to Judson University and the school's President Gene Crume to uphold the principles the institution was founded on or to sell Jesus Christ to the best bidder, which, so far, seems to be the Serb lobby and disbarred Trump-ally Blagojevich.

Idhan Tahirovic, president, Bosniak Brotherhood of Genocide Survivors, West Ridge

Keep cellphones in classrooms for safety reasons

I understand why some want to ban cellphones in classrooms. Absolute distraction impedes learning and possibly affects social skills. But with the high number of school shootings in the country, I'll take safety over distraction and do not want cellphones banned in Illinois classrooms.

Find a way to keep cellphones in the classroom but not in students' backpacks during class. The schools that have had shootings didn’t anticipate those tragedies, so let’s not assume it won’t happen here. Forty students with cellphones are better than one teacher having a cellphone if there's an attack. Safety first.

Richard Barber, Mount Greenwood

Exposing pay inequity in CPS

As a retired Chicago Public Schools teacher, I congratulate the Sun-Times and WBEZ for exposing the ridiculously low wages paid to lunchroom workers. It would be great to show some CPS consultant salaries, bogus patronage jobs and contracts to emphasize the disparity and waste.

Gene Jersha, Yorkville