Chicago Bar Association

Not tax-deductible

Chicago, IL501(c)(6)EIN 36-0896550

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Provide support to individual members through professional activities, continuing legal education, practice committees, legislative updates, publications and other resources to promote excellence and maintain professional standards. Additionally, to offer the public useful legal information.

33¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
Run by 500 volunteers and 39 employees.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Programs: Part IX · People: Part I, lines 5–6

Before you give

FY2025 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
501(c)(6)
not on the IRS revocation list
Looks good: listed by the IRS and not on the revocation list.
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Tax-deductible gifts
No
Donations are not tax-deductible
Worth a look: the IRS does not list gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2025
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2025, 1 tax year back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
6 of 6
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $711K a year · 14% of revenue · last 6 filings
Looks good: a surplus in 6 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
33%
of spending
Concern: 33% of spending went to programs; under 50%.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$321K
to officers and key staff · 7% of spending
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 7% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
12 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 12.1 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
1
named funder · $82K
Fine: 1 funder names it on their filings; under 3.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$1.2M
9% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 9% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
25
of 26 voting members
Looks good: 25 of 26 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$5.0M
-6% vs prior year
Spent
$4.5M
To programs
33%
Net assets
$11.2M
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$5.0M
FY2025▼ -6%
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$6.3M
FY2021$4.1M
FY2022$5.0M
FY2023$4.9M
FY2024$5.3M
FY2025$5.0M
Expenses
$4.5M
FY2025▼ -8%
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$4.6M
FY2021$3.7M
FY2022$4.1M
FY2023$4.5M
FY2024$4.9M
FY2025$4.5M
Net assets
$11.2M
FY2025▲ +4%
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$8.6M
FY2021$9.8M
FY2022$10.0M
FY2023$10.1M
FY2024$10.8M
FY2025$11.2M

From the FY2025 Form 990 (year ending May 2025) · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

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Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Mar 1952.

IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File

Where the money goes

33 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 33% · $1.5M

Form 990 Part IX, line 25. Every line is in By the numbers.

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Who runs it and what they're paid

40 people listed on the 990; $321K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2024); the FY2025 filing did not itemize Part VII
Executive Director
$190,592Pt VII · Sec A
V.p. of Sales
$130,359Pt VII · Sec A
First Vice President
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director (until 06/27/2024)
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Immediate Past President
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
First V.p.(until 12/19/2024)
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 3 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Terrence M Murphy————$213,614$271,695
Elizabeth McMeen$190,592$189,785$172,619$172,619$136,077$129,556
Tyler Sill$130,359$127,294$125,308$125,308$121,678$120,812

Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.

See Chicago Bar Association executive salaries →

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Questions the 990 asks

The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.

  • Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
  • Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes

Programs and updates

Promote legal excellence and professional standards through resources and education, while offering the public useful legal information.

Provided by the organization

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3 programs · $1.5M · in their own filed words · FY2024
01

General Bar Activities

organize relevant events to foster the goals of the Association. Several award ceremonies are held during the year to honor outstanding contributions and achievements made towards the legal profession.

$709Kprogram expense
02

Continuing Legal Education

on January 1, 2006, the Supreme Court of Illinois established minimum continuing legal education ("MCLE") requirements for Illinois attorneys under Illinois Supreme Court Rules 790-798. To help its members meet the plan's requirements, the Chicago Bar Association developed no-cost and low-cost programming by offering accredited committee…

$506Kprogram expense
03

Lawyer Referral Service

as part of its community service, the Chicago Bar Association maintains a knowledgeable staff of phone interviewers to aid callers needing assistance in finding a suitable attorney. To meet the standards set by the American Bar Association, a panel of over 250 pre-screened, qualified lawyers experienced in almost every area of law are…

$275Kprogram expense

Funders

Who pays for it.

From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.

Grants

Schedule I · received and paid
Grants received · FY2024
Total grants receivedfrom 1 funder$82K
Grants paid · 12 grants · $1.8M · 2019–2024
Unitemized GrantFY2024$304,096
The Chicago Bar Assoc Judicial Evaluation FundFY2024$70,747
Unitemized GrantFY2023$288,058
The Chicago Bar Assoc Judicial Evaluation FundFY2023$94,200
Unitemized GrantFY2022$189,202
The Chicago Bar Assoc Judicial Evaluation FundFY2022$101,411
Unitemized GrantFY2021$201,148
The Chicago Bar Association Judicial Evaluation FundFY2021$97,337
Unitemized GrantFY2020$115,936
The Chicago Bar Association Judicial Evaluation FundFY2020$92,719
Unitemized GrantFY2019$116,019
The Chicago Bar Association Judicial Evaluation FundFY2019$97,838

By the numbers

The FY2025 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$5.0M
Ln 12
Fees for servicesLn 2g$4.2M
Investment incomeLn 3$608K
Other incomeLn 4–11$179K
Money outPt IX
$4.5M
Ln 25
Programscol B$1.5M
Owns and owesPt X
$11.2M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$4.6M
Total assetsLn 16$12.4M
LiabilitiesLn 26$1.2M
PeoplePt VI, VII
40
listed · VII A
PaidVII A2
Voting boardVI 1a26
IndependentVI 1b25
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Fees for servicesLn 2g$4.2M
Investment incomeLn 3$608K
Other incomeLn 4–11$179K
Gains on assetsLn 7$318K
Total revenueLn 12$5.0M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$485
SavingsLn 2$4.6M
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$4.6M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$5.4M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$2.0M
Other assetsLn 15$210K
Total assetsLn 16$12.4M
LiabilitiesLn 26$1.2M
Net assetsLn 32$11.2M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 539
VolunteersI 6500
Fiscal year endsHeaderMay
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aNo
Whistleblower policyVI 13Yes
Records policyVI 14Yes
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY25End FY25
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$4.4M$4.6M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$5.3M$5.4M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$2.2M$2.0M
Total assetsLn 16$12.4M$12.4M
LiabilitiesLn 26$1.5M$1.2M
Net assetsLn 32$10.8M$11.2M
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1$71K
Grants to domestic individualsLn 2$304K
Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3$0
Benefits paid to or for membersLn 4$0
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$321K$0
Pay of disqualified personsLn 6$0
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$1.0M
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$19K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$144K
Payroll taxesLn 10$105K
Management feesLn 11a$44K
Legal feesLn 11b$6K
Accounting feesLn 11c$50K
Lobbying feesLn 11d$84K
Professional fundraising feesLn 11e$0
Investment management feesLn 11f$55K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$155K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$140K
Office expensesLn 13$256K
Information technologyLn 14$86K
RoyaltiesLn 15$0
OccupancyLn 16$689K
TravelLn 17$3K
Travel and entertainment for public officialsLn 18$0
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$114K
InterestLn 20$0
Payments to affiliatesLn 21$0
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$230K
InsuranceLn 23$102K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$525K
All other expensesLn 24e$28K
Total functional expensesLn 25$4.5M$0

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest Viewing $5.0M$4.5M$424K$11.2M 990 PDF
FY2024 $5.3M$4.9M$378K$10.8M 990 PDF
FY2023 $4.9M$4.5M$340K$10.1M 990 PDF
FY2022 $5.0M$4.1M$933K$10.0M 990 PDF
FY2021 $4.1M$3.7M$491K$9.8M 990 PDF
FY2020 $6.3M$4.6M$1.7M$8.6M 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
See the full FY2025 990 (4 parts)
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $4,968,795 across 9 lines filed
Lines not itemized here account for $500,884 of total revenue; see the IRS return.
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$0
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$0
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $3,535,142 · Unrelated business $70,872 · Excluded from tax $75,000$3,681,014
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $289,165$289,165
VIII-5 RoyaltiesUnrelated business $93,540 · Excluded from tax $82,190$175,730
VIII-6 Net rental income or lossUnrelated business $3,600$3,600
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assetsExcluded from tax $318,402$318,402
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising events$0
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $4,036,026 · Unrelated business $168,012 · Excluded from tax $764,757$4,968,795
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $4,544,664 across 31 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizations$70,747
IX-2 Grants to domestic individuals$304,096
IX-3 Grants and assistance to foreign recipients$0
IX-4 Benefits paid to or for members$0
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffManagement $0$320,951
IX-6 Pay of disqualified persons$0
IX-7 Other salaries and wages$1,014,706
IX-8 Pension plan contributions$19,369
IX-9 Other employee benefits$144,257
IX-10 Payroll taxes$105,363
IX-11a Management fees$43,734
IX-11b Legal fees$6,000
IX-11c Accounting fees$49,836
IX-11d Lobbying fees$84,000
IX-11e Professional fundraising fees$0
IX-11f Investment management fees$54,838
IX-11g Other fees for services$154,975
IX-12 Advertising and promotion$140,041
IX-13 Office expenses$256,011
IX-14 Information technology$85,930
IX-15 Royalties$0
IX-16 Occupancy$688,981
IX-17 Travel$2,822
IX-18 Travel and entertainment for public officials$0
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetings$113,833
IX-20 Interest$0
IX-21 Payments to affiliates$0
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortization$229,905
IX-23 Insurance$102,036
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)$524,679
IX-24e All other expenses$27,554
IX-25 Total functional expensesManagement $0$4,544,664
Part X · Balance sheet $12,385,806 assets, 24 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $109$485
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $4,426,223$4,584,021
X-3 Pledges and grants receivableStart of year $0$0
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $248,662$175,442
X-8 Inventories for sale or useStart of year $30,335$0
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $51,520$89,653
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $2,237,428$1,958,148
X-11 Publicly traded securitiesStart of year $5,295,186$5,367,245
X-12 Other securitiesStart of year $1,000$1,000
X-13 Program-related investmentsStart of year $0$0
X-14 Intangible assetsStart of year $0$0
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $59,698$209,812
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $12,350,161$12,385,806
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $640,919$446,092
X-18 Grants payableStart of year $0$0
X-19 Deferred revenueStart of year $1,818,637$1,657,462
X-20 Tax-exempt bond liabilitiesStart of year $0$0
X-24 Unsecured notes and loans payableStart of year $0$0
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year −$954,548−$949,559
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $1,505,008$1,153,995
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $7,791,228$8,380,289
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $3,053,925$2,851,522
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $10,845,153$11,231,811
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $12,350,161$12,385,806
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $11,231,811 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$4,968,795
XI-2 Total expenses$4,544,664
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$424,131
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$10,845,153
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments−$37,473
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$11,231,811

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2025 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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