Nonprofit recognizes Koch volunteers for helping tenants address unsafe living conditions.
On Oct. 15, the Law Center for Better Housing (LCBH) presented the Koch Pro Bono Initiative with its 2026 Pro Bono Service Award at the organization’s annual fall benefit in Chicago. The award recognizes people and organizations that help LCBH advance its mission through volunteer service.
LCBH is the only legal aid nonprofit in Chicago focused exclusively on housing justice issues. Between 2023 and 2025, Koch partnered with LCBH and Jones Day to host five community clinics for tenants facing unsafe or unhealthy conditions in their apartments. LCBH, Jones Day and Koch are expanding their partnership to hold an eviction expungement clinic in Chicago on Nov. 13.
The problems tenants brought to the clinics were diverse — from plumbing issues to doors and windows that wouldn’t lock to fire safety hazards. LCBH estimates Koch has already provided more than $100,000 in in-kind support through its volunteer efforts. At these clinics, volunteers from Koch and Jones Day helped 26 tenants draft 14-day conditions letters requesting that their landlords make necessary repairs.
“In many of those cases, we can arm the client with a letter to the landlord outlining the reasons for lawfully withholding rent or, in some cases, terminating a lease,” said Adam Schaeffer, a volunteer attorney and member of the Koch Pro Bono team. “It can be a powerful tool for a tenant up against a landlord that typically knows the law better than they do.”
For Adam, addressing housing situations is important because housing affects so many aspects of a person’s life. “If your living situation is unstable, it’s hard to focus on anything else,” he said, adding that volunteering with LCBH is a way to give back to Chicago, his adopted home of 26 years.
The housing clinics are just one part of the Koch Pro Bono Initiative’s broader work, which also includes criminal record expungement, driver’s license restoration, veterans’ discharge upgrades and support for nonprofits. And employees across Koch — not only those in legal roles — are encouraged to participate.
“At Koch, we believe in people, and we’re guided by the idea of a system of equal rights and mutual benefit, where individuals succeed by helping others succeed,” Adam said. “Pro bono work is where that belief becomes tangible.”
Learn more about the ongoing efforts of the Koch Pro Bono Initiative here.
