Madalyn Maxwell, profiled in our March 2001 newsletter, will be honored by the Academy of Illinois Lawyers as one of 12 distinguished Laureates. Established by the Illinois State Bar Association in 1999 to celebrate excellence in the legal profession, the Academy of Illinois Lawyers recognizes attorneys throughout the State who maintain the highest standards of professionalism and community service.

Retired Springfield attorney Madalyn Maxwell, a 1951 graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law, practiced for two years in Nashville, Illinois, then served as an Assistant Illinois Attorney General from 1953 until 2001. In 1964 she was named bureau chief of the Public Assistance Claims Enforcement Division. Her work in this area, as well as the number of attorneys assigned to this area, steadily increased until her retirement in 2001.

In addition to her exemplary public service, Ms. Maxwell devotes time to civic, community and bar associations. She is an active member of Saint Paul's Episcopal Church, serving on its food pantry board, and is a member of the Planned Parenthood Board, the Springfield Choral Society Board, and the finance committee of the Springfield Center for Performing Arts, among many others.

The Attorney General's new Public Aid Bureau in Springfield will be dedicated in honor of Maxwell, who is immediate past president of the Illinois Family Support Enforcement Association. She is also past president of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra Evening Guild and Sojourn Women's Center.

We honor and applaud Madalyn Maxwell's inclusion as a Laureate.