Justice P. Scott Neville, Jr. Selected as Next Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court

Posted on September 9, 2025 by Marybeth Stanziola

The Illinois Supreme Court has selected Justice P. Scott Neville, Jr. as the 123rd Chief Justice. He will be the second Black Chief Justice in Illinois history, following the late Justice Charles E. Freeman, who served from 1997 to 1999.

His three-year term begins on October 26, 2025, succeeding Chief Justice Mary Jane Theis, who has led the Court since 2022.

What’s at stake in the race for Cook County chief judge

Incumbent Timothy Evans has served for 24 years, already the longest of any chief judge in Cook County history. Two challengers are vying for control of a court system that gavels in half a million new cases per year.

From: 
Injustice Watch

New Illinois law allows student teachers to be paid

Student teachers in Illinois now have more opportunities to be paid for their work. A new state law bans public universities from enforcing rules that block student teachers from being paid during their placement.

From: 
WAND

President Trump launches long-promised Chicago deportation campaign, dubbed 'Operation Midway Blitz'

President Donald Trump’s administration announced the launch of its long-promised deportation campaign in Chicago on Monday, just hours after Trump bemoaned the city’s violent crime.

From: 
Northern Public Radio

Illinois state prisons can’t compute recidivism rates

The Illinois Department of Corrections doesn’t know how many recently released prisoners have gone on to commit new crimes, WGN Investigates has learned.

From: 
WGN 9

Justice Department's civil rights boss takes on Illinois' assault weapons ban

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon is challenging a signature accomplishment of Gov. JB Pritzker’s and getting involved in a case that could go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

From: 
Chicago Sun-Times

Get to the SharePoint Already: Using SharePoint in Law Firms

ISBA Members: Use your 15 hours of Free CLE credits to order this program –
just use the green button next to the “Add to Cart” button below!
ISBA’s Practice Toolbox Series
Presented by the Illinois State Bar Association


1.0 hour MCLE credit, including 1.0 hour Professional Responsibility MCLE credit in the following category: Professionalism, Civility, Legal Ethics, or Sexual Harassment Prevention credit


Original Program Date: Tuesday, August 12, 2025
Accreditation Expiration Date: ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­September 16, 2027 (You must certify completion and save your certificate before this date to get MCLE credit)


In this seminar we explore SharePoint, a feature of Microsoft 365 that allows users to share access, interaction, and collaboration. Learn how it can be used as a primary storage location for your firm’s documents and data, or as an auxiliary storage location for your existing document management system. This seminar teaches you what a Microsoft 365 SharePoint subscription includes, the differences between Microsoft’s OneDrive and SharePoint, how to enhance SharePoint with add-ons, the potential problems and pitfalls of SharePoint, and how to integrate SharePoint with your existing technology setup

Program Speaker:
Jeff Krause, Affinity Consulting, Ohio
About the Speaker: Jeff specializes in corporate legal department deployments and workflow design and efficiency. Jeff practiced law for two years after finishing law school in 1996, but decided technology was a better path f or him. He began working for a pioneering legal technology consultancy called MicroLaw in 1998. In 2003, Jeff started his own legal technology consultancy, which he ran until 2016, when he joined Affinity.Jeff was recently named as the recipient of the John Lederer Distinguished Service Award from the Wisconsin Bar Association. This honor, named in memory of John Lederer, is awarded to those who, like John, have made it their mission to help solo and small-firm lawyers master the skills and technology needed to build successful practices. Jeff’s superpower is patience, and his favorite part of his job is the satisfaction of helping someone solve one of their business problems.
Pricing Information
  • Please Note: You must attend the entire program in order to earn MCLE credit for this seminar.
  • ISBA sponsoring section members get a $10 registration discount (which is automatically calculated in your cart when you log in to register).
  • Fees:
    • ISBA Member Price of $35 is displayed below when you login and program is eligible for Free CLE member benefit.
    • New Attorney Member (within the first five years of practice) - $25
    • Law Students – Free

Baker Sterchi and Wisconsin-Based Corneille Law Group Announce Merger

Posted on September 8, 2025 by Marybeth Stanziola

Kansas City, MO – Baker Sterchi Cowden & Rice LLC is pleased to announce its merger with Wisconsin-based Corneille Law Group, LLC, led by Mark Budzinski, effective Oct. 1, 2025. The merger reinforces Baker Sterchi’s position as a premier civil defense litigation firm with expanded reach and even greater trial depth.

SIU’s Constitution Day Includes Panel Discussion on Federal vs. State Education Issues

Posted on September 8, 2025 by Marybeth Stanziola

CARBONDALE, Ill. — A discussion on the effect that recent federal mandates involving education and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives have on state-level efforts highlight Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s observation of Constitution Day on Wednesday, Sept. 17.

“Education and DEI Initiatives: State vs. Federal,” is from noon to 1 p.m. in Morris Library’s John C. Guyon Auditorium. The panel discussion is free and open to the public.

The panelists are: