
Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough on Thursday will launch a “help desk” to provide free legal help with basic property paperwork, answer residents’ questions and fight back against real estate fraud.
Questions about property records often have complex answers, but residents who visit the clerk’s office can get only so much help from the staff at the counter — county workers are prohibited from filling out forms or offering legal advice, said Yarbrough spokeswoman Sally Daly. Residents with more difficult questions can now be referred to attorneys from the nonprofit Center for Disability and Elder Law, who will be on hand at the clerk’s office each month to help prepare documents and advise customers.