Attorney General Madigan distributes $500,000 to Illinois' 8 regional food banks

Distribution pushes Lawyers Feeding Illinois campaign to more than 3.7M meals

Funds from legal settlements to help feed needy in all 102 Illinois counties

[May 10, 2013]  CHICAGO -- Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced Wednesday that her office will distribute $500,000 in funding from several legal settlements to food banks across Illinois to help feed families and people in need. Madigan said the money will make food available to local food pantries that serve each of Illinois' 102 counties.

Madigan made the disbursement announcement at an awards ceremony for Lawyers Feeding Illinois, the first-ever statewide food and fundraising campaign conducted by the Illinois State Bar Association. The association exceeded its goal of raising funds for 1 million meals, with teams of lawyers throughout the state raising in excess of 1.27 million meals for Illinois residents struggling with hunger. The attorney general's office partnered with the bar association on the campaign.

"No one should go hungry. The Lawyers Feeding Illinois campaign will help the food banks throughout our state provide meals to adults and children in need. This settlement funding from my office's work will add to this important effort to bring hope to many who are facing tough times and struggling to make ends meet," Madigan said.

"I am delighted that the funding facilitated by Attorney General Madigan will bring the total of meals provided through Lawyers Feeding Illinois to more than 3,777,560," said John Thies, ISBA president. "The participation of our state's chief legal officer demonstrates the strong commitment of the legal profession to this important cause."

Thies' wife, Terry, chaired the Lawyers Feeding Illinois campaign.

The funds that the attorney general distributed to battle hunger come from several settlements her office reached in which the funds were designated to be used to focus on health and nutrition. Specifically, $380,000 of the total distribution will go to the Greater Chicago Food Depository, which annually provides food for 678,000 adults and children in Cook County through a network of 650 shelters, soup kitchens and food pantries. This money was recovered through an investigation into former Chicago Bears player Chris Zorich's charitable foundation. Additionally, Madigan will distribute $120,000 from other settlements to the state's seven regional food banks outside of Cook County.

The following is a breakdown of the $500,615 distribution:

• Greater Chicago Food Depository, Chicago, serving Cook County: $380,000

• Northern Illinois Food Bank, Geneva, serving 13 counties: $61,306.28

• Central Illinois Foodbank, Springfield, serving 21 counties: $14,269.56

• Eastern Illinois Foodbank, Urbana, serving 14 counties: $12,331.72

• River Bend Foodbank, Moline, serving 17 counties: $10,570.05

• St. Louis Area Foodbank, St. Louis, Mo., serving 12 counties in Illinois: $11,852.36

• Peoria Area Food Bank, Peoria, serving eight counties: $5,285.03

• Tri-State Food Bank, Evansville, Ind., serving 16 counties in Illinois: $5,000

[Text from file received from the office of Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan]