Michael Thomas O'Connor of Kankakee became executive director of Prairie State Legal Services on Jan. 16. Headquartered in Rockford, he administers a network of legal assistance efforts conducted by a total of 97 employees with an annual budget of $6.4 million.

O'Connor replaces Joseph A. Dailing, Prairie State's founding director, who is the new executive director of the Illinois Coalition for Equal Justice.

A 1989 graduate of the Loyola University School of Law, O'Connor received a cum laude degree in applied piano from the University of South Dakota.

He teamed up with Prairie State in 1989 as a staff attorney in the Kankakee office. In 1996 he succeeded Jeffrey T. Abbott as managing attorney.

During his tenure, O'Connor has been author and editor of a Senior Citizens Handbook (2002), The Guidebook of Laws and Programs for People with Disabilities (2000), and the Guardian's Rights and Responsibilities Series (1999).

A volunteer mediator in the 21st Circuit, he has participated with the Robert Peppin Center for Dispute Resolution in child custody disputes and training of other mediators.

O'Connor is a commissioner of the Kan-kakee Valley Park District and the River Valley Special Recreation District. He has served on the board of Center of Hope for low-income residents, and the advisory board for the Kankakee School District Head Start program.

Dailing assumed leadership of Prairie State in October 1977, when it was formed by the merger of existing legal service programs in Kane, Lake, McLean, Peoria and Winnebago Counties.

In his 27 years at the helm, the legal aid provider has grown from four offices in nine counties to 11 offices serving low-income residents of 36 counties in Northern and Central Illinois.

In addition to federal funding and annual grants from the Lawyers Trust Fund of Illinois, Prairie State receives support through campaigns organized by pro bono initiatives of several regional bar associations.

For more information, call (815) 965-2134 or access the Web site, www.pslegal.org.