Chicago Area

Some 100 members of the Illinois Judges Association (IJA) - including Appellate Court justices and even one Supreme Court justice - have taken a two-hour training that enables them to deliver in their communities a hard-hitting, interactive youth education program called "7 Reasons to Leave the Party." Since 2007, IJA members have made more than 160 presentations to nearly 50,000 students statewide. For its contribution to improving the administration of justice in Illinois, and encouragement to teens to adopt wise and safe behaviors, the IJA will receive a Special Merit Citation from the American Judicature Society (AJS) to be presented by AJS Distinguished Lifetime Director, Dawn Clark Netsch, at the IJA's Midyear Meeting Luncheon at noon on Friday, December 11, at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers, 301 E. North Water St. An AJS Special Merit Citation is intended to allow recognition of projects and efforts that benefit some aspect of the judicial system including those that are narrowly focused or time specific. This award recognizes individuals, publications, state or local courts, organizations and educational institutions that make significant contributions toward improving the justice system. The American Judicature Society, founded in 1913 and headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, is an independent, national, nonpartisan organization of judges, lawyers, and other members of the public who seek to improve the justice system. Established in 2002 by judges and probation officers in Adams County of the Eighth Judicial Circuit in Illinois, written by and delivered extensively by one of its judges, Judge Mark Drummond, and "adopted" as a community outreach program by Judge Mark Schuering when he was IJA President (2007-08), the "7 Reasons to Leave the Party" program uses rap music, photos and true stories to underscore its message - that there are serious consequences to teen activities such as drinking and driving. The myth that nothing happens to you if you're a juvenile is just that - a myth.