Bell Advocate LLC

Caregiving for my father, Rev. Jesse Jackson, showed me real cost of care Let us give thanks for the unpaid caregivers and recognize the scale of their tasks, the cost they bear and the policy fixes that could support them.

Judge Timothy C. Evans has served as Chief Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County my entire career, but today was the first day I met him.

We talked about Southern roots and the importance of representation for our community in my practice areas: Family Law, Probate, and Estate Planning.

Change is inevitable, but I don't have to be excited about it.

There are classes in person and online that are offered on co-parenting

Look up "Children in Between"
You can also use apps like "Talking Parents" or "Our Family Wizard" to streamline and monitor communication.

It will be very helpful during "he said she said" fights in court.

“We were young when we had her. I was twenty-three, the mother was twenty; we weren’t planning to have kids yet. I don't want to say the relationship fell apart because of our daughter. It was mostly us. We were going through a stressful time: I’d just lost my mother, she’d just lost her grandmother. We were going through an eviction and had to move into a shelter. We just handled our stress in different ways. She dealt with it by wanting to be young and dumb and free. We were arguing about everything, and I’m not good at arguing. I don't like confrontation. I get agitated, antsy. Every time there was an argument, I’d get so angry that I’d have to leave the facility to get some air. I’ve been that way since childhood. My mom and my dad were heavy addicts; they lost custody of me when I was four. I grew up in programs. I didn't have nobody to show me affection. And it made me angry, I was an angry kid. I saw that other people had love, and understood it, and to be honest, I wasn't okay with it. There are times where I still feel like that, sometimes even now as a father. But every time I look at her it goes away. It went away the moment she was born. When you held your first kid, did you see a glow around them? Did you ever see a glow? Because I saw a glow. And I felt it. It was like, holy s**t. I wanted to cry the first time I felt it, because I wasn't sure what it was. I was confused. But as it gradually grew on me, I was like: OK, so this is what love is. And it felt beautiful. It made me want to be better. I don't want my daughter seeing the side of me from when I was young and didn't know how to cope with my anger. Right now I have her every day after school. There’s a counselor at her school: Mr. Gonzalez. I go to see him once, sometimes twice a week. He’s been very helpful. He’s teaching me how to cope with life, how to handle arguments with my baby’s mother. Now if she texts me twenty paragraphs about things that happened six years ago, I don’t fight back. I just don't respond, until it’s time to get the baby.”

I am excited to announce that I am an Ambassador for Amplified Voices' 2nd Annual Justice Freeman Luminary Awards. As a proud partner I am thrilled to support the incredible work Amplified Voices does to empower and equip budding young scholars for successful legal careers of their own. The work Amplified Voices is doing is crucial to the diversification of Chicago's Legal community. 

Join me in celebrating the fantastic impact Amplified Voices has had on the lives of students from Chicago's South and West sides. Visit jfluminaryawards.eventbrite.com to purchase your ticket to the Justice Freeman Luminary Awards on August 17th from 2pm to 4pm at 1201 E. 60th Street. Let's come together to honor the achievements of this summer's fellows and celebrate a program tangibly changing the face of Chicago's legal community one student at a time.