In the spring, members of the ISBA will elect a third vice president, six seats on the Board of Governors, and 22 seats on the Cook County Assembly. One board seat is open in each of the following Areas: Cook County, Board Area 1 (circuit 18), Board Area 3 (Circuits 12, 13, 16, 21 and 23), Board Area 4 (circuits 10, 14, and 15), Board Area 6 (circuits 7, 8 and 9), and Board Area 8 (circuits 3 and 20).   Nominating petitions are now being accepted and must be filed by 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 31 at either the Illinois Bar Center, 424 South 2nd Street, in Springfield, or the ISBA Office at 20 S. Clark Street, 9th Floor, Chicago. Petitions must be physically submitted with original signatures. Petitions submitted via email or fax will not be accepted. Candidates should submit their biography and photo online. Questions regarding the filing of petitions should be directed to Kim Weaver, assistant to the executive director. Find out more on the ISBA Elections page.  

The Illinois Supreme Court launched its Commission on Pretrial Practices today to conduct a comprehensive review of Illinois' pretrial detention system and provide guidance and recommendations for change. Building on pretrial reform initiatives that began last year, the Commission will gain an understanding of where the greatest problems lie; how the problems vary by jurisdiction; and how laws, regulations, and rules can be changed to ensure pretrial services are fair, efficient, transparent, accountable, and adequately resourced.  Illinois' pretrial practices are one of the greatest problems facing the state's justice system. "Pretrial detention costs now consume a substantial portion of the total resources expended by the justice system in our country. The time has come to take a hard look at whether that investment makes sense," Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Lloyd A. Karmeier said. "Mindful of these social and financial costs, the Illinois Supreme Court has committed itself to enacting sensible and practical reforms to the pretrial process to ensure that pretrial incarceration is reserved for cases in which the threat to public safety truly warrants it." The idea of forming a statewide pretrial commission began four years ago when the supreme court began looking into the issue of pretrial services in Cook County by creating a committee of key stakeholders in the county. This stakeholders committee, chaired by Hon. Benjamin Miller, retired Illinois Supreme Court chief justice, and Hon. David Coar, retired federal judge, met for several years to develop a program of best practices.

Jayne Reardon, executive director of the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism, discusses changes to the MCLE rules made by the supreme court.

All ISBA systems will be down due to electrical work beginning Friday, Dec. 29 at 8 a.m. until Saturday, Dec. 30 at 12 p.m. (noon). During this time the ISBA website will not be available. As a result you will also not be able to log into Fastcase, online CLE, and ISBA Central. Here is what you need to know and steps you can take to ensure continued service. Online CLE You will not be able to access online CLE at all during the outage. If you need to complete CLE credit before the end of the year, we strongly urge you to plan to finalize that before the outage.  ISBA Central Communities and Discussion Groups Discussion groups will still be available via email, but you will not be able to log into ISBA Central. (Note: if you are already logged into the ISBA website, you may be able to access ISBA Central by going to it directly at http://central.isba.org). Fastcase For members who need to access Fastcase during this time, please follow the instructions below.