Center for Disability and Elder Law

06/03/2026

Mark your calendars! CDEL is proud to announce the dates of our next three fundraising events! This summer, for the first time in many years, the YPB is excited to host a summer fundraiser at The Dock at Montrose Beach on July 22nd. Our YPB is also proud to host its annual Trivia Night at Midwest Coast Brewing on September 24th. Finally, our 2027 “Light up the Loop” Winter Awards Benefit is confirmed for February 25, 2027 at Baker McKenzie!

We hope you save the dates and join us! Stay up to date on these events and more by subscribing to CDEL’s newsletter: https://www.cdelaw.org/cdel-newsletter

06/01/2026

This month we are excited to highlight long-time CDEL staff member Stephanie Ridella Vittands who became CDEL’s Legal Director in February of this year. She has had a long and storied career here and was first introduced to CDEL at the 2012 Winter Awards Benefit. Soon after, she began volunteering regularly during law school. In August 2014, she joined CDEL once again as an AmeriCorps VISTA and was hired in 2015 as a CDEL staff attorney. Five years later in 2020, she became a Supervising Attorney and held that role until being named as Legal Director earlier this year. In 2021, she became the recipient of The Honorable Abraham Lincoln Marovitz Public Interest Law Award.

Outside of CDEL, Stephanie has been very involved in important committee work for both the CBF and CBA. She is a member of the Chicago Bar Foundation’s Pro Se Advisory Committee. For the past year, she has also served as the vice chair of the CBA’s Mental Health & Disability Law Committee. In 2024-2025, she was a co-chair of the CBA’s Young Lawyer’s Section Serve our Seniors committee. Family is very important to Stephanie. She has been actively involved in parent organizations for her children like the University of Chicago Charter School North Kenwood Oakland Campus Family-Teacher-Community Organization.

Please join us in celebrating Stephanie and all the amazing contributions she has made to CDEL and the Chicago legal community!

05/28/2026

Over the past 6 months, CDEL participated in a competitive process to receive a coveted Impact Grant Award. Last night was the culmination of that process, with more than 350 Impact Grant Committee members voting to award CDEL, one of just 7 grantees, a $40,000 Merit Award. CDEL Executive Director Michael Stone and Supervising Attorney for CDEL’s Adult Guardianship Program Cheryl Lipton gave a fantastic presentation, and staff members Stephanie Ridella Vittands, Mike Wyne, Trevor Otis, Jeanette Ruby and adult guardianship attorney volunteer Catherine Cappell fielded member and guest questions before the vote. Sincere thanks to Impact Grants Chicago for an inspiring event and for the honor of being a grantee, and a callout to the other six organization grantees for the incredible work they do.

05/22/2026

Over the past year, CDEL made meaningful progress advancing its strategic priorities focused on expanding community impact, advocating for systemic change, investing in people, and building long-term organizational sustainability. Across all areas of the strategic plan, CDEL continued enhancing the lives of older adults and people with disabilities while strengthening infrastructure to support future growth.

We invite you to read our 2026 CDEL Strategic Plan Progress Report at our website: https://www.cdelaw.org/cdel-strategic-plan-2025-2027

05/19/2026

In honor of LGBT Older Adults Day this past weekend, CDEL held a POA workshop yesterday at the Center on Cottage Grove (Center on Halsted.) The Center on Cottage Grove is a hub for LGBTQ organizations in the Woodlawn community serving primarily Black and Brown communities to collaborate on community initiatives, programs, and events. Volunteers from TransUnion joined CDEL to help our clients with their documents.

Because of a lifetime of experiences, including discrimination, invalidation, and ongoing legal marginalization, many LGBT+ older adults experience disparities while aging compared to non-LGBT+ older adults and are more likely to have legal concerns. However, many LGBT+ adults lack access to culturally responsive resources to address these needs to help clients with their documents. CDEL’s Proud to Thrive for LGBT+ Elders program addresses this inequity by providing legal services and implementing monthly legal clinics in LGBT+-affirming locations.

You can learn more about CDEL and our Proud to Thrive program at our website: https://www.cdelaw.org/proud-to-thrive-for-lgbt-elders

05/18/2026

Last week, CDEL Supervising Attorneys Cheryl Lipton and Andrew Potter joined legal professionals from across the country in Charlotte, North Carolina at the 2026 American Bar Association (ABA) & National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA) Equal Justice Conference. It was great to learn and connect with so many great like-minded professionals!

05/15/2026

Yesterday, CDEL staff members celebrated the graduation of CDEL's 2025-2026 Kott Scholar Danielle Graham with the Kott Gerontology Scholars Program . She volunteered with CDEL during the Fall of 2025 and Spring of 2026. Danielle culminated her year with CDEL with a major project and created a poster to commemorate her work.

Congratulations to Danielle on such a great year with CDEL!

05/13/2026

CDEL is a proud finalist and recipient of funding from Impact Grants Chicago! On May 27, CDEL will join 6 other organizations to share our mission, story, and impact in the community with members of Impact Grants Chicago during their 2026 Grant Awards Celebration. Following a live vote from members, four organizations will receive $100,000 Impact Grants, and three will receive $40,000 Merit Grants.

CDEL is honored to be recognized together with such great organizations in our community! We invite you to learn more about CDEL and this exciting opportunity at CDEL's website:

Our society has a fundamental obligation to guarantee justice for all of its members. The Center for Disability & Elder Law (CDEL) has been expanding access to justice to persons marginalized by poverty, age and/or disability, for over forty years. LEGAL HELP LEGAL HELP VOLUNTEER VOLUNTEER DONATE DO...

05/12/2026

Join us in ONE WEEK for our annual Older Adults Resource Fair now with CityKey services! Join our team along with 50+ service providers to get connected with resources related to healthcare, recreation, technology assistance, legal aid, financial planning, and more!

📆Friday, May 15
🕛11am - 2pm
📍Broadway Armory (5917 N Broadway)

*** For questions and service requests, please contact the ward office at [email protected] or 773-784-5277 ***

[alt: Older Adults Resource Fair flyer with logos from participating organizations]

05/12/2026

Please join us in welcoming Eli Ackerman to the CDEL team! Eli (he/they) joins CDEL as a staff attorney for CDEL’s Early Resolution Program (ERP.)

"I am excited to join CDEL and to work with populations that are overlooked at times within our field. This role is so important to me, as helping folks of intersectional, underrepresented backgrounds is vital to our overall community. I look forward to helping with basic human rights and needs such as housing and cannot wait for the future!" -Eli

Learn more about Eli and the rest of the CDEL team at CDEL’s website: https://www.cdelaw.org/cdel-team