CENTER FOR DISABILITY & ELDER LAW
PRESENTS
Blast from the Past
Profile of Bob Michalak
Bob Michalak has been an actively involved Governing Board member and an instrumental part of CDEL since its founding in 1984. He has been an integral part of CDEL's history over the last forty years. Please read CDEL’s interview with Bob below to learn about his journey with CDEL and stay tuned throughout 2024 to learn more about CDEL’s rich history.
How did you learn or become involved in CDEL?
As a member of the Disability & Law Committee of the Young Lawyers Section of the Chicago Bar Association, I assisted in conducting a needs study about the availability of legal services for people with disabilities. The committee found a need and successfully proposed this specialized clinic to the Board of Managers of the CBA. This became known as the Legal Clinic for the Disabled (LCD).
Chip Collins of the Board of Managers recruited me along with fellow YLS attorneys Patti Smart and Mike Cochran to help jumpstart and incorporate LCD. We incorporated LCD in October of 1982, and began by soliciting contributions from lawyers, law firms, and from the Board of Managers of the Chicago Bar Association because we needed around $56,000 to be able to open our doors. The President and Founder of the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Dr. Henry Betts, generously donated some of their office space and resources for LCD to use. With that help, we successfully raised the money, recruited personnel, and opened our doors in March 1984.
Describe how you supported CDEL over the years.
As I mentioned, I have been involved with LCD and then CDEL since its inception. I have been on the board of directors from the start and have served in every board officer capacity. Including as Secretary, Treasurer, Vice President, President, and Chairman, when we had one.
There are lots of non-profits, why do you support CDEL?
To me, supporting CDEL has been like raising a child. Just like a child, you want to see it succeed. Like anything, there have been good times and challenging times, but I believe CDEL is in the best situation we have ever been in. CDEL has never had a better staff, board of directors, or fundraising plan. There are so many good people at CDEL doing so many good things.
What is it about CDEL that inspires you to continue to show your support?
It is the gratitude that we get from the clientele that we serve and seeing the successes from the cases we have worked on. Early on, LCD had a monumental case against the Chicago Cubs that became instrumental in getting elevators and more seating for persons with disabilities. LCD was quite instrumental in getting curb cuts put in sidewalks and streets to increase accessibility for people in wheelchairs.