The membership of the Illinois Government Consortium consists of professional development directors, administrators, and attorneys from several government agencies. We first met in December, 2005. The Illinois Attorney General’s Director of Attorney Recruitment and Professional Development invited representatives of state-wide government agencies to meet and discuss the Minimum Continuing Legal Education requirements (MCLE). 

Some two dozen government agencies have joined the Consortium to share information and concerns, and to examine issues with an eye towards preparing to meet the challenges of MCLE. As not-for-profit entities dependent on taxpayer funding for operational necessities, Consortium members, big and small, face unique MCLE challenges. The Consortium represents agencies employing lawyers in both civil and criminal arenas, and has drawn to the table more than two dozen diverse groups.

In our meetings, we have inventoried our in-house programs, many of which have been operated successfully for decades. We have examined how each of our offices can best facilitate our employees’ compliance with MCLE in light of our experience, and with an eye towards the budgetary constraints we each face. 

Our meetings have also featured representatives of various bar associations whose programs have been granted presumptive accreditation in other states, and we have shared our concerns with such groups as the Chicago Professional Development Consortium. We have also drafted a letter to the MCLE Board outlining our various concerns with the new requirements. We hope to invite the new Executive Director of MCLE to our next meeting.

If you would like to join the Consortium, feel free to contact Ruta Stropus at: rstropus@atg.state.il.us.