West Side Justice Center

Chicago, IL · EIN 81-0968030 · 501(c)(3) · Publicly supported organization (170(b)(1)(A)(vi))
Latest filing: Form 990 for calendar year 2025 (tax year 2025) · View the filing · Correct or respond

West Side Justice Center reported $14.0 million in revenue and $13.8 million in expenses for calendar year 2025. Of every $100 it spent, $94.59 went to program services, $4.56 to management and general costs and $0.85 to fundraising. Its largest source of revenue was contributions and grants: 99.9% of the total. Government grants made up 97.4%. The highest compensation it reported for one person was $135,100 (Executive Director). Revenue rose 5103% between 2019 and 2025. Source: Form 990, 2025.

Where $100 of spending went

Calendar year 2025 · Form 990, Part IX, line 25 · total expenses $14M

Program services$94.59 $13M
Management & general$4.56 $629K
Fundraising$0.85 $117K

For context, the median across 274 covered crime & legal-related charities: $87.85 programs, $11.30 management, $0.85 fundraising (medians computed separately, so they may not sum to $100).

Where $100 of revenue came from

Calendar year 2025 · Form 990, Part VIII · total revenue $14M

Contributions & grants (non-government)$2.48 $348K
Government grants$97.42 $14M
Investment income$0.01 $1,481
Other revenue$0.09 $12,163

The 990 scorecard · same measures for every charity, no grades

2025 filing. Median across 274 covered charities in this category, from their latest filings.
Measure	2025	Median
Program services Part IX 25(B) ÷ 25(A)	94.6%	86.7%
Management & general Part IX 25(C) ÷ 25(A)	4.6%	11.1%
Fundraising Part IX 25(D) ÷ 25(A)	0.9%	0.8%
Fundraising cost per $1 of contributions Part IX 25(D) ÷ Part VIII 1h	$0.01	$0.01
Contributions & grants share of revenue Part VIII 1h ÷ 12	99.9%	94.8%
Government grants share of revenue Part VIII 1e ÷ 12	97.4%	50.1%
Program service revenue share Part VIII 2g ÷ 12	0.0%	0.7%
Highest reported compensation Part VII-A, columns D–F	$135,100	$245,814
Highest compensation as share of expenses Part VII-A ÷ Part IX 25(A)	0.98%	1.41%
People paid over $100,000 Part VII, line 2	0	8
Net assets, in months of expenses Part X 33(B) ÷ monthly expenses	1.7	6.4
Independent voting board members Part VI 1a–1b	7 of 7	100.0%

A median is context, not a target: hospitals, universities, food banks and grantmakers spend in very different ways. What these measures can and can't tell you.

What the money paid for, in its own words

2025 · Form 990, Part III · the three largest programs by expense

$13M expenses · 100.0% of program spending

Grant Administration-WJC administers the Illinois Access to Justice state-wide program for community-center organizations that provide legal services to mitigate forms of detention and incarceration to historically marginalized communities

Highest reported compensation

2025 · Form 990, Part VII, Section A · roles as filed; names are in the filing, not here

Role	From this org	From related orgs	Other	Total
Executive Director Key employee, highest compensated employee, 40 hrs/week	$135,100	$0	$0	$135,100
COO Key employee, 40 hrs/week	$124,880	$0	$0	$124,880

0 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation from West Side Justice Center (Part VII, line 2). Compensation of current officers, directors and key employees totaled $260K (Part IX, line 5).

7 years of filings

Form 990, Parts I, VII, IX and X · each row is that year's own filing, linked

RevenueExpenses

Filing	Revenue	Expenses	Programs	Net assets	Top pay
2025 ⓘ	$14M	$14M	94.6%	$1.9M	$135,100
2024 ⓘ	$13M	$13M	94.2%	$1.4M	$131,225
2023 ⓘ	$11M	$11M	98.4%	$2,217	$136,784
2022 ⓘ	$8.9M	$8.9M	100.0%	$96,253	—
2021 ⓘ	$7.0M	$7.0M	98.7%	$134K	$90,927
2020 ⓘ	$6.2M	$6.7M	94.7%	−$499K	—
2019 ⓘ	$270K	$274K	67.5%	$1,667	$65,000

Governance answers, as filed

2025 · the organization's own yes/no answers; explanations, if any, are in Schedule O of the filing · what each means

Voting board members, and how many are independent Part VI, lines 1a–1b7 · 7 independent
Audited financial statements Part XII 2bYes
Conflict-of-interest policy Part VI 12aYes
Whistleblower policy Part VI 13Yes
Document retention policy Part VI 14Yes
Independent process for top executive pay Part VI 15aNo
Board given the 990 before filing Part VI 11aYes
Family or business ties among insiders Part VI 2No
Aware of a significant diversion of assets Part VI 5No
Excess benefit transaction with an insider Part IV 25aNo
Loans to or from insiders outstanding Part IV 26No
Lobbying, or a 501(h) election in effect Part IV 4No
Over $15,000 of professional fundraising services Part IV 18No
Over $10,000 of activity outside the U.S. Part IV 14bNo
Employees Part I, line 530
Volunteers Part I, line 67

Private foundation grants it received

2 private foundations reported grants to West Side Justice Center totaling $12,516 on their tax year 2023 Form 990-PF returns. See which foundations, on WHOFUNDS.

Source: WHOFUNDS open grant graph, matched from Form 990-PF Part XV.

Correct a figure or respond

Every number above is copied from West Side Justice Center's own Form 990. If one doesn't match the filing, that's our error and we'll fix it. If you work for West Side Justice Center, you can publish a response that is linked from this page.

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Similar-sized charities in this cause

Legal Services of Eastern Missouri
St Louis, MO · revenue $14M · programs 82.9% · 2024
Georgia Bar Foundation
Atlanta, GA · revenue $14M · programs 97.0% · FY2025
Midpenn Legal Services
Harrisburg, PA · revenue $14M · programs 85.5% · FY2025
Fbi-Leeda
Malvern, PA · revenue $14M · programs 86.6% · 2024
The Campaign Legal Center
Washington, DC · revenue $14M · programs 75.9% · 2024

All crime & legal-related charities · Largest charities in Illinois

Questions people ask

How much of West Side Justice Center's spending goes to programs?

In calendar year 2025, West Side Justice Center reported that 94.6% of its $13.8 million in expenses went to program services, 4.6% to management and general and 0.9% to fundraising (Form 990, Part IX).

How much does West Side Justice Center pay its top executive?

The largest total compensation West Side Justice Center reported for one person in calendar year 2025 was $135,100, for the role of Executive Director (Form 990, Part VII, including compensation from related organizations and other compensation).

Where does West Side Justice Center get its money?

Of $14.0 million in revenue in calendar year 2025, 99.9% came from contributions and grants (including 97.4% from government grants) and 0.0% from program service revenue (Form 990, Part VIII).

Is West Side Justice Center a registered charity?

The IRS lists EIN 81-0968030 as a 501(c)(3) organization (publicly supported organization (170(b)(1)(a)(vi))), and its records show contributions as tax-deductible. Form 990 filings on record here cover tax years 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025. A filing shows what the organization reported; it doesn't by itself show whether a program works.

Sources

2025: Form 990 for calendar year 2025, object 202602129349300530 · read the filing
2024: Form 990 for calendar year 2024, object 202502699349301310 · read the filing
2023: Form 990 for calendar year 2023, object 202423129349303532 · read the filing
2022: Form 990 for calendar year 2022, object 202313139349305501 · read the filing
2021: Form 990 for calendar year 2021, object 202213089349301141 · read the filing
2020: Form 990 for calendar year 2020, object 202133199349317393 · read the filing
2019: Form 990 for calendar year 2019, object 202023219349318042 · read the filing

All filings for EIN 81-0968030: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer · IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search. Figures are as the organization reported them; we have not audited them.