CDEL's December Newsletter

• Year End Message from CDEL Executive Director Michael Stone

• CDEL's  Board, YPB, and Staff Come Together for Year End Mixer

• Don't Forget CDEL This Giving Season!

• CDEL and Illinois Legal Aid Online (ILAO) Announce New Power of Planning Website!

• CDEL's YPB Welcomes Eight New Members!

• CDEL Announces New Logo Coming in 2026!
• Thank You to our December Pro Bono and Community Partners!

Year End Message From CDEL's Executive Director Michael Stone

As we close 2025, I find myself filled with both gratitude and reflection. This year brought moments of real joy and progress for the Center for Disability & Elder Law, but it also presented significant challenges—especially for the older adults and persons with disabilities we serve. Throughout 2025, our clients faced increasing uncertainty, including threats to critical safety-net programs that so many rely upon for stability, health and dignity. In the face of these pressures, CDEL’s mission has never felt more urgent or more necessary.

As we look ahead to 2026, I am hopeful—not because the challenges will disappear, but because of the community that surrounds this organization. Together, we will continue to advocate, to serve, and to stand with older adults and persons with disabilities as they seek fairness, stability, and justice.

Thank you for being part of this work and for walking alongside us.

With gratitude,

Michael Stone
Executive Director, Center for Disability & Elder Law

Read Michael's complete message at CDEL's website.

CDEL's Board, YPB, & Staff Come Together for Year End Mixer

Don't Forget CDEL This Giving Season!

CDEL appreciates your year-end gift to support our work.  If you have already made your year-end gift to CDEL, we thank you! If you haven’t, or you want to make an additional gift, the changes in tax laws relating to charitable giving for 2026 may make this year an ideal time to make the gift you’ve been planning to make.

If you typically itemize deductions, charitable giving in 2026 will only be deductible above 0.5% of your adjusted gross income. This year, the full amount is deductible and you’ll receive the full tax benefit.

Other important considerations:

• If you make a gift online at CDEL's donation page, consider selecting the ACH option, which eliminates any fees that CDEL has to pay for credit card transactions.
• Have you considered a recurring gift? Select that option in our online donation form, and join those donors who provide CDEL with ongoing, guaranteed support at any interval you choose. You can even set up a “once-a-year” donation so you don’t have to remember each year.
• Make a Qualified Charitable Distribution from your IRA if you are over 70-1/2 so you don’t have to recognize that income.
• Recommend a grant from your Donor-Advised Fund (DAF). There’s still time to initiate a grant from your Donor-Advised Fund, especially if you typically do that online by logging into your DAF sponsor account (like Fidelity, Thrivent, Schwab or any number of DAF sponsors). Our Tax ID number is 36-2088609.
• Make a gift of appreciated stock - and enjoy a tax benefit. Our handy form makes it easy. Send an email to Jeanette at jruby213@cdelaw.org and we will email you the form to complete.
  
  Questions? Call Jeanette: 312-869-6024 or email at jruby213@cdelaw.org. Thank you so much for including CDEL in your 2025 year-end giving!

CDEL and Illinois Legal Aid Online Announce New Power of Planning Website!

The Center for Disability and Elder Law (CDEL) is proud to announce the launch of the Power of Planning website created in collaboration with Illinois Legal Aid Online (ILAO).  This free online tool allows residents of Illinois to learn about advance planning and draft their own Power of Attorney documents with ease, empowering individuals to take control of their futures. The project is led by CDEL attorney Lissette Ortegon and supported by CDEL Program Coordinator, Margaux Shields, and made possible by a grant from the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH).   

The website was designed to be simple, engaging, and culturally connective. With clear instructions and attorney-backed guidance, individuals can use the platform to make important legal planning documents that protect their health, finances, and peace of mind.  Advance planning through Power of Attorney documents is one of the most important steps a person can take to prepare for the future. Videos featuring CDEL attorneys Michael Stone, Lissette Ortegon, and Marlo Pahl guide participants through the process of making their Power of Attorney for Healthcare and Power of Attorney for Property (and Finances).

The site also shares the stories of Shirley, Frederico, and Lisa whose experiences with Powers of Attorney are representative compilations of real-life issues CDEL clients have faced. What makes this program unique is its accessibility and flexibility. Individuals can learn about and connect with the importance of advance planning and actually create their POA documents from the comfort of their own home.   

By providing this tool, CDEL and ILAO hope to remove barriers to legal preparedness and ensure that everyone has the opportunity to make informed decisions about their future. This project strongly reflects CDEL’s mission of empowering communities through legal education and support by providing clarity, security, and dignity to those planning for what lies ahead.

CDEL's YPB Welcomes Eight New Members!

CDEL's Young Professionals Board voted in eight new members at their year end meeting earlier this month! Please join us in welcoming:

• Jared Boone, Venable LLP
• Elise Hocking, Kirkland & Ellis LLP
• Robert Jacobson, Kirkland & Ellis LLP
• Marc Karlinsky, JPMorganChase
• Caroline Lowenberg, Schiller DuCanto & Fleck LLP
• Jack Moore, Smith Blake Hill LLC
• Sara Peal, Heyl Royster
• Elizabeth Toth, Roetzel & Andress

We can't wait to hear what 2026 has in store for CDEL's YPB!

CDEL Announces New Logo Coming in 2026!

CDEL is excited to announce an updated logo coming in 2026 - an important step toward improving usability and accessibility while honoring more than four decades of service! This updated logo incorporates important elements of over four decades of CDEL's history. CDEL began in 1984 as the Legal Clinic for the Disabled with a mission to provide pro bono legal services to low-income people with disabilities, initially using a logo that combined “LCD” with the international wheelchair symbol. In 1997, the organization expanded its services to include low-income senior citizens in the Metropolitan Chicago area and changed its name to the Center for Disability & Elder Law, introducing a new logo in 2003 that incorporated the interdependence of the individual (represented by a head) and the legal system (represented by pillars), symbolizing how legal advocacy gives clients a voice in the justice system. 

As a legal organization serving people with disabilities and older adults, it is essential that CDEL’s visual identity is easy to read, recognizable and usable across digital and print platforms for people with low vision, cognitive disabilities, and those using assistive technologies, helping all audiences engage with CDEL’s work more easily. The 2026 logo update builds on our legacy while ensuring that CDEL’s identity is inclusive, accessible and effective for the communities it serves today and into the future.

Thank you to all of our pro bono and community partners who have volunteered with us! Because of you, we are able to reach and serve more of our clients in the communities they live.

Thank you to our Pro Bono Partners who have volunteered with us in December:

Accenture
Pro Bono Network

Thank you to our community partners listed below, for allowing us to continue to conveniently and accessibly serve our clients in the communities in which they live.

Bloom Township Senior Services
BUILD, Inc.

Center on Addison
Chicago Methodist Senior Services

Cook County Clerk's Office
Dolton Park District
ECHO Joint Agreement
EZRA Multi-Service Center

Greater Auburn Development Corporation
Greencastle of Garfield II
Pathlights

Richard J. Daley Center
Salvation Army Ray & Joan Kroc Corps Community Center
Solutions for Care
University of Chicago Law School

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