History:

In 1979, the Young Lawyers Section of The Chicago Bar Association supported the creation of a not-for-profit corporation to aid the Chicago community in effectively handling disputes.

Originally known as the Neighborhood Justice of Chicago, the Center for Conflict Resolution opened in a storefront in Chicago's Uptown Neighborhood to help people resolve their conflicts through mediation. In the early 1980's, CCR began accepting a significant number of case referrals from the Circuit Court of Cook County. To reach the community more effectively and to enhance their new services, CCR moved its offices to Chicago's downtown loop.

CCR continued its reach through programs developed in the Circuit Court of Cook County and in city and state institutions that continue today. From juvenile offenders and victims, landlord-tenant conflicts and small claims matters to employment discrimination and Chancery Court cases, CCR provides a successful option for the court and to the residents of the Chicago-land community.

In the 1990's, having successfully trained hundreds of volunteers to mediate for the organization, CCR began offering mediation skills training to individuals along with custom-designed conflict management training programs for organizations.

Today the Center for Conflict Resolution is governed by a 20-member Board of Directors and relies on a full-time staff of eleven and approximately 120 active volunteer mediators who mediate 95% of CCR's cases. In the past five years alone, CCR mediated over 10,000 cases and provided conflict management training to thousands of individuals.