​MCBA NEWSLETTER 

updated @ 11:55 am - ​august 3, 2026

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​MCBA Events 2026
August
8/6 (Thurs.)
National Paralegal Day

8/7 (Fri.)
Breakfast with the Bar

8/11 (Tues.)
Board of Governors [BOG] Meeting

8/14 (Fri.)
​​​GAL Certification Planning Committee Meeting
Breakfast with the Bar

8/21 (Fri.)
Breakfast with the Bar

8/25 (Tues.)
Continuing Legal Education [CLE]  Meeting

8/26 (Wed.)
DEIA Meeting

8/28 (Fri.)
Breakfast with the Bar

September
9/1 (Tues.)
Family Law Bar Meeting
[Note day change.]

9/8 (Tues.)
Board of Governors [BOG] Meeting

9/15 (Tues.)
CLE 

9/18 (Fri.)
CIPA CLE

October
10/9 (Fri.)
Underwood & DEIA PR CLE Luncheon

November
11/3 (Tues.)
Law & Justice Center Closed 

11/19 (Tues.)
CLE 

December
12/2 (Wed.)
CLE Luncheon & Family Law Bar Meeting

12/10 (Thurs.)
Holiday Luncheon

2027 Events
June 27 (Thurs.)
Annual Meeting

Sept 29 & 30 (Wed. & Thurs.)
Biennial GAL Seminar

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​Complete 2026 List of Court Holidays & Closures

2026 Jury Calendar

​Complete 2027 List of Court Holidays & Closures

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celebrate your paralegal!

Please mark your calendars for this Thursday, August 6th! This is recognized as National Paralegal Day (NPD). 

Paralegals are the quiet powerhouses of the legal profession. On Thursday, August 6th, the legal community is celebrating National Paralegal Day. Please take a moment to honor your paralegals’ contributions. 
​

More Information on National Paralegal Day.

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McLean County Bar Association
Shines at
'20 Stars for LIFE' Celebration

Great Plains LIFE Foundation
“Keeping Kids in School . . .”
456 Wylie Drive, Normal, IL 61761 Phone: 309-828-3406
​

State Farm Attorney, Calli Farrell  represented McLean County Bar Association at the Great Plains LIFE Foundation’s annual 20 Stars for LIFE held on Thursday evening, July 16th, at the Parke Regency Hotel in Bloomington.

In addition to Farrell, the 2026 Galaxy of Stars included: Joe Adelman – Executive Director of Operations, Jon Albee – Operations Commander, Molly Allen – Regional Office of Education #17, Jared Bierbaum – City of Bloomington, Melissa Blaum – Unit 5 Education Association, Rhendy Bradshaw – RE/MAX Rising, Kurt Busse – McLean County Athletic Directors, Vincent Hobart – Heartland College, Tim Jorczak – Supervisor of Assessments, Brian Kiley – Livingston/McLean Building & Trades, Sarah Morgan – The Pass Pub & Grill, Zach Morris – Department of Children & Family Services, Julie Riley – Bloomington Education Association, Lucas Salvator – LS Mechanical, Mark Smith – AFM, McLean County Agriculture, Katie Thomas – Bloomington School District #87, Phil West – Illinois State University, Justin Whitefoot – Chick-Fil-A, Brent Williams – Great Plains Laborers’ District Council.
 
Major sponsors for the evening were: Cloud Nine Bridal Boutique, Lamar Advertising, LiUNA Midwest Region, Office Depot, Outback Steakhouse, Parke Regency Hotel, The Pantagraph, Tony Jones Media, and Vrooman Mansion.

All Proceeds went to benefit the “Stay 4” Project©; a local initiative designed to address the high school drop-out crisis and help low-income students that demonstrate the ability to succeed yet are at risk for dropping out.

For more information or to see additional photos from the evening go to www.stay4.org.

July 30, 2026 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   
Paul Segobiano - Director of Development - Email: [email protected]
Liz Skinner - Director of Public Relations - Phone: 309-828-3406 or 309-645-7342

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looking for good folks

Do you have an hour a month? Maybe you have an hour every three months to share your expertise and opinion to help make our local McLean County Bar Association a better place.

Please consider joining a committee. Information about our committees can be found at the by clicking the button below. Please review the committees and submit an interest form. 

​We look forward to hearing from you!
​

Review the MCBA Committees & Give Your Time & Talent HERE

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Piña Coladas Forever

A Play written by MCBA member Thomas McClure

The Nomad Theatre Company presents a play written by MCBA member Thomas McClure. This 10-minute play will be performed at The Smash House Tavern in September during the dates listed below. 

September 11-13 & 18-19

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cle

Tuesday, September 15, 2026

Back to Basics: civil pleadings

[Up to 1 hour general CLE - Pending Approval]
​

New and experienced lawyers benefit from refreshers of foundational civil procedure, ensuring effective representation of their clients and efficient resolution of their case. This Back to Basics class will review Illinois law regarding pleading various civil causes of action, anywhere from negligence to fraud, contract breaches and more. Oftentimes, the delays caused by battling over the sufficiency of complaints are preventable. We’ll discuss being strategic in allegations, distinguishing between facts, conclusions and evidence, overcoming the imbalance of information before discovery, as well as addressing when Defendants should attack the pleadings to avoid waiving defects.

​This one-hour CLE will be presented by Paige Thielen and Joe Foley of Thielen, Foley & Mirdo.

Registration to open soon

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lawyers & court users
share your feedback
​about your experience!

How would you rate your most recent interaction with the Illinois court system? The Illinois Supreme Court and the Illinois Judicial Conference want to know.

The Illinois Judicial Branch is requesting feedback from lawyers, their clients, and members of the public about their recent court experiences through the Illinois Circuit Court User Experience Survey [LINK - Red Button Below].

The survey is designed for all in-person and remote circuit court users. Users are encouraged to complete the survey each time they visit a courthouse in person or remotely during the survey period. Responses can be recorded regarding experiences in multiple Illinois courthouses.

The feedback will be used to improve the court experience for lawyers and court users and to inform future policy decisions.

The survey can be taken in person at all Illinois courthouses or press the Red Button Below. All responses are anonymous.

• Who Should Complete The Survey: Parties to a civil case, criminal defendants, lawyers (including state’s attorneys and public defenders), jurors, witnesses, and other people who use the Illinois court system.
• Who Should Not Complete The Survey: Judges, court staff, and others who work for the Illinois court system.

The deadline to respond to the survey is August 7, 2026.
​
If you have questions, please contact Marisa Wiesman, Administrative Office of Illinois Courts, at [email protected].

Survey LINK - takes less than 5 minutes

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save the date

Reception for the Women Lawyers of the 11th Judicial Circuit
September 16, 2026
5-7 p.m.
More details coming soon

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prairie state legal services

PRAIRIE STATE LEGAL SERVICES - Pro bono attorney needed:
We have a client needing assistance with a McLean County divorce with children and no property.  Support and maintenance were already ordered in a F case and the client does not know where spouse is but our private investigator found two possible addresses, one in STREAMWOOD, IL and the other in MORENO VALLEY, CA. 
​
If you are willing to take this case, please contact Stacy James at [email protected] .

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​bar committee activities

BOG Meeting - August 11 noon
​​​GAL Certification Planning Committee Meeting - August 14 12.15 pm
​CLE Committee Meeting - August 25 noon
​​DEIA Committee Meeting - August 26 noon
Quarterly Family Law Bench/Bar Listening Session - September 1

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mcba welcomes
​nick fink! 

The City of Bloomington is pleased to announce that attorney Nick Fink has joined the legal department as Assistant Corporation Counsel. Nick’s practice covers municipal law matters including contract review, FOIA, and Open Meetings Act compliance. Nick holds a J.D. from Vermont Law and Graduate School and was recently admitted to the Illinois Bar in April. Prior to entering legal practice, he spent nearly a decade in higher education administration at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, most recently serving as Senior Assistant Director for Student Engagement.

If your office has new attorneys and staff, then we would like to update membership on your additions! Maybe you have an attorney making moves within your office. Please click on the link below to submit a little about the new addition and feel free to add a photo as well. 

New to My Office? or Retiring? or Moving? Any Update!

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mcba cle recorded opportunities

cle​

Originally Recorded
Wednesday, April 1, 2026
​Ends, March 1, 2028
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Sentencing Credit in Illinois Criminal Cases
​
[Up to 1.5 hours general CLE - Approved]
​

Please join the McLean County Bar Association in welcoming Jackie Mathias-Jail R.E.S.E.T. (Recovery, Education, Support and reEntry Team) Director McLean County Jail and Hon. David Butler [Ret.]-Special Assistant Public Defender for McLean County.
 
This program will provide a guide of the credits that may be applied to reduce a criminal sentence.  The amount of time served on a criminal sentence may be significantly reduced by various forms of sentence credit available under Illinois law.  Attorneys should be familiar with the credits that may be applied to a sentence when negotiating a plea agreement or deciding on whether to go to trial.  Both defense attorneys and prosecutors will gain an awareness of the sentence credits that are possible for particular sentences.
 
Specific Topics Include:
Statutory Good Time Credit
Illinois Truth in Sentencing Act
Minimum Sentences
Periodic Imprisonment
County Jail Programs Credit
DOC Earned Discretionary Sentence
DOC Programs Credit
Sentencing Credit on Concurrent & Consecutive Sentences
Misdemeanor Good Time Act
Time Served in Custody Prior to Sentencing
Strangulation & Great Bodily Harm Cases
Revocation of Good Time Credit

Registration for Recording & CLE Credit Instructions

cle

Originally Recorded
Tuesday, December 3, 2025
​Ends, December 1, 2027
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​A Guide To Problem Solving Courts: 
​Drug Court, Recovery Court, and Veteran’s Court

​[Up to 1.5 hours general CLE - Approved] 
​

Presenters:
Hon. Dave Butler [Ret.]-Moderator
Ron Lewis
Hon. Scott Drazewski [Ret.]
Emilio Fischer
Craig Queen

This program will provide an overview of the sentencing alternatives known as Problem Solving Courts. These sentencing alternatives include Drug Court, Recovery Court and Veteran’s Court. Each of these specialized sentences are remedial and are alternatives to a prison sentence. Both defense attorneys and prosecutors will gain an understanding of these specialized sentences including eligibility requirements, terms and conditions, the process of evaluating referrals and the sentencing process.
 
Specific Topics Include:
 
What Are Problem Solving Courts?
Drug Court, Recovery Court, and Veteran’s Court Distinguished
PSC Referrals
PSC Court Process
PSC Teams
Steps In Processing PSC Referrals
Adult Risk Assessments & Drug Evaluations
State’s Attorney’s Screening of PSC Referrals
Attorney’s Role When Client is Sentenced To a PSC
PSC Violations

Registration for Recording & CLE Credit Instructions

CLE
Originally Recorded
Tuesday, March 18, 2025
​Ends, March 1, 2027

Small Law Office Efficiency - AI

Presented by: Drew Vaughn

​[Up to 1 hour general CLE - Approved] 

Please join the McLean County Bar Association in welcoming Mr. Drew Vaughn. He will be teaching about how Artificial Intelligence works, the ethical implications of its use, and practical applications of Artificial Intelligence that you can implement today.  

Learning Objectives:
1. Foundations of Artificial Intelligence [A.I.]
2. Ethical Implications of the use of AI
3. Practical AI Application
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Registration for Recording & CLE Credit Instructions

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friday breakfast with the bar
join us this friday
8:00 am-9:00 am

Ivy Lane Bakery - Downtown Bloomington
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career opportunities 
&
law student opportunities

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state farm insurance

Information

closing date 8-24

employment law - in-house counsel​

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logan county ​

Information

closing date 8-12

public defender

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prairie state legal services

Information

link posted 7-6

staff attorney positions

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office space available

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108 w. monroe, BLOOMINGTON

Information

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