Pro bono attorney Yates French of Kirkland & Ellis LLP has gone to bat many times for community organizations facing legal issues. In 2016, he represented the Greater Auburn-Gresham Development Corporation (GAGDC) and successfully proved that they did not owe $15,000 to the state of Illinois, a sum they couldn’t afford. Recently, he did it again. Representing the South Shore Chamber of Commerce, Yates went to court three times over the course of three years in order to show that the small nonprofit had neither misspent nor improperly withheld $17,000 in government grants. A judge cleared their name in a final ruling last month.
“It feels like a weight was lifted off my shoulders,” says Tonya Trice, Executive Director at the South Shore Chamber.
“We can again focus on serving the community and do the work that we’re charged to do.”
When Tonya first joined the organization as a Program Manager, it had only 3 employees. Over the last six years, she has helped double the group’s size and expand its programming to support small businesses through education, networking, and advocacy. The Chamber also helps to run a Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and serves as a business liaison to the City of Chicago.
These services are essential to communities like South Shore that have suffered from disinvestment for decades. Home to former First Lady Michelle Obama, South Shore still experiences higher rates of poverty and unemployment than many parts of the city.
In 2011, South Shore Chamber received around $200,000 in state grant money from a new agency called the Illinois Violence Prevention Authority (IVPA) to provide violence-prevention trainings and seminars. 30-year-old Ciera Whitaker was a ‘Parent Lead’ at South Shore Chamber during that time.
“It was an amazing program,” Ciera recalls. “We were working with community residents who were facing some tough things.”
Parents who attended the South Shore Chamber’s programs learned about trauma response and how to communicate with their at-risk children, some of whom were involved in gun violence.
“Just to be in the room with other parents who are facing similar issues, it let them know that people care,” says Ciera.