Chicago Council of Lawyers

Civil Liberties Committee Meeting
2026-08-14 12:00 - 13:15, 2026-09-11 12:00 - 13:15, 2026-10-09 12:00 - 13:15, 2026-11-13 12:00 - 13:15, 2026-12-11 12:00 - 13:15 (America/Chicago)
The Civil Liberties Committee meets monthly on the second Friday of every month from 12 pm – 1:15 pm CT to address current civil liberties issues ranging from police accountability in Chicago to the Administration’s anti-immigration efforts, to trans rights, and everything in between. The committee researches, prepares, and issues statements advocating for reform.
Email ccl@chicagocouncil.org about your interest in joining this committee so you can be informed about meeting links, agendas, updates, and opportunities.
We welcome your active engagement!

Supreme Court Rules Committee to Hold Public Hearing
2026-09-03 10:00 - 12:00 | Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, 222 N. LaSalle Street, Chicago, IL, 60601, United States
The Illinois Supreme Court Rules Committee will hear comments on six proposals on Wednesday, September 3, 2026, at a public hearing beginning at 10 a.m. at the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, 222 N. LaSalle Street, 13th Floor, in Chicago. All proposals must be approved by the Illinois Supreme Court before they can take effect. The hearing will be livestreamed here.
The Supreme Court Rules Committee invites public comments on the proposals. Written comments should be submitted no later than Thursday, August 27, to RulesCommittee@illinoiscourts.gov or via mail to: Committee Secretary, Supreme Court Rules Committee, 222 N. LaSalle Street, 13th Floor, Chicago, Illinois 60601. All written comments submitted will also be published and accessible on the Supreme Court’s website.
To be scheduled to testify at the public hearing, please register by sending an e-mail to the Rules Committee Secretary, as noted above, no later than Thursday, August 27.
More information is available at the Rules Committee Public Hearing page of the Supreme Court’s website here.
Larry R. Rogers, Jr., of Power Rogers, LLP serves as chair of the Rules Committee.
The following are the proposals which the Rules Committee seeks comment on:
Proposal 25-09, which would amend Supreme Court Rule 46 to require that the courts create and maintain a record of all protective order proceedings, either by stenographic means or by an electronic recording system, including any court date on which an order is issued, extended, modified, terminated, vacated, published or served regardless of whether the proceeding is consolidated into another matter.
Proposal 26-06, which would amend Rule 286 by clarifying small claim defendants’ appearance and answer requirements; removing mandatory trials on appearance dates; and clarifying informal hearing procedures; (2) amend Rule 277 to reflect current practice, including changing language to “Citation to Discover Assets”, clarifying rules for citation uses against debtors or third parties, and encouraging remote appearances; and (3) creating Rule 278 to govern judgment debtors’ post-judgment statutory exemption claims.
Proposal 26-07, which would amend Supreme Court Rule 906 to require that attorneys complete specific hours of training in intimate partner domestic abuse prior to appointment as a Guardian Ad Litem in domestic relations and child custody cases.
Proposal 26-08, which would amend Supreme Court Rule 753 to allow parties to file a motion with the Review Board to correct material mistakes in Review Board Reports and allow the Review Board to file corrected Review Board Reports on its own motion.
(FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: James Brunner, Public Information Officer of the Illinois Supreme Court at 217.208.3354 or jbrunner@illinoiscourts.gov.)
Click here to download the full release as a PDF.

Northwestern University's Mock Trial
2026-11-14 - 2026-11-15 | Northwestern University, 633 Clark Street, Evanston, Illinois, 60208, United States
We are pleased to share the following volunteer opportunity from Northwestern University’s Mock Trial program. If you’re interested in supporting aspiring advocates and helping students develop their trial skills, consider serving as a judge at this year’s Mock at the Rock invitational tournament.
On behalf of Northwestern Mock Trial, we are excited to announce that our annual Mock Trial tournament is taking place on the weekend of November 14-15 at Northwestern’s Evanston campus. We are looking for individuals to serve as judges. We are reaching out to see if you will share this opportunity with the members of your organization.
College Mock Trial is a fun and dynamic way for undergraduate students to develop skills in public speaking, performance, and trial advocacy. Students will perform as both attorneys and witnesses in this year’s criminal case.
No Mock Trial experience is necessary — we train all judges. We will also provide free breakfast and lunch to all judges during the tournament. Individuals can sign up to judge anything from one competitive round (~three hours) to the whole weekend (four competitive rounds across two days).
We would be deeply grateful for your time, whether you judge one round or all four. If you’re interested in judging, please sign up here.
Here’s the complete schedule for the weekend:

Round 1: Saturday, November 14th at 8:00 AM
Round 2: Saturday, November 14th at 12:00 PM
Round 3: Sunday, November 15th at 8:00 AM
Round 4: Sunday, November 15th at 12:00 PM

Again, if you’re interested, please fill out this form! And please share this opportunity with others you think would be interested in judging!
