How to Prepare and Submit Biographical Information

Campaign materials must be submitted electronically via the Candidate Information Filing Form. The submission page will be available from 8:00 a.m. January 2, 2025 to 4:30 p.m. January 31, 2025.

You are required to include your name and city in your biography, which will be included in your final word count. Biographies must be provided as a single paragraph. Do not submit your unedited curriculum vitae or resume; any submissions received in this format will be sent back to you for revision. Also, do not use bullet points or all capital letters in your biographies.

Generally, bios contain the following information in paragraph form:

  • Name, City, “Incumbent” (if applicable), Employer, Education, Degrees, Honors, Date(s) of Admission
  • Areas of Practice
  • ISBA Activities
  • Other Bar Association Activities
  • Legal Writings and Presentations, Community Service and Activities, Personal Information. You may include personal information such as spouse and children.
  • “Issue Statement” to be used in the Illinois Bar Journal bio for Board of Governors and Third Vice President only

Please note that the online form will not allow you to exceed the maximum word count for your desired position and does not have a spell-check feature. We strongly encourage you to write your bio(s) in advance of completing the form, using your own word processing application’s spell-check and word count features to make sure your bio(s) is in its final form and complies with the word count limit. You can then copy and paste it into the appropriate field in the online form.

Assembly

By Policy, candidates for the Assembly must submit a biographical paragraph to be included in the ballot distribution that does not exceed 100 words.

Sample Biography for Ballot Distribution

Fred Jones, Springfield. Incumbent. Principal of the Law Offices of Jones and Jones, a practice with a focus in criminal law. Former practice in tort and workers’ compensation law. B.S., University of Illinois; J.D., University of Illinois College of Law. Admitted 1980. ISBA activities: Board of Governors (1996-1999, 2014-present), Secretary (1998-1999), Assembly (1982-1988). Former board liaison to Insurance Law section council. Chair, Insurance Law, Federal Taxation and Family Law section councils.  Member, standing committees on Judicial Advisory Polls, Judicial Evaluations Outside Cook County. ISBA speaker.
Word Count 89

Third Vice President and Board of Governors

By Policy, candidates for the Board of Governors and Third Vice President must submit the following to ISBA:

  1. A biographical paragraph for use in ISBA print or electronic publications
  2. A biographical paragraph to be included in the ballot distribution
  3. A photograph for use in ISBA print, electronic publications, and ballot mailing/ballot e-blasts. Photos must be of high resolution (300 dpi) and in jpeg format.
  4. Webpage information and features as described in Policy Para. 5.3 and 6.3.

Biographical information (bio) requirements - ISBA print and ballot distribution

For Board of Governors and Third Vice President, candidate bios may not exceed 300 words.

You have the option to 1) submit a different bio for use in ISBA print or electronic publications and ballot distribution or 2) submit one bio to be used for both.

Issue Statement

You may include an “Issue Statement” with your bio to be used in ISBA print or electronic publications but may not include it in your ballot bio. If you choose to submit one bio for both and include an “Issue Statement” in your bio submission, ISBA staff will edit that portion out of your ballot bio to conform to the rules. If you are including an issue statement in your bio, you must include those words (“Issue Statement”), also to be included in your final word count.

List of Supporters

Per the ISBA Policy and Procedures on Association Elections, you are not allowed to include a list of supporters in either of your bios.

Sample Biography for Ballot Distribution

Fred Jones, Springfield. Incumbent. Principal of the Law Offices of Jones and Jones, a practice with a focus in criminal law. Former practice in tort and workers’ compensation law. B.S., University of Illinois; J.D., University of Illinois College of Law. Admitted 1980. ISBA activities: Board of Governors (1996-1999, 2014-present), Secretary (1998-1999), Assembly (1982-1988). Former board liaison to Insurance Law section council. Chair, Insurance Law, Federal Taxation and Family Law section councils.  Member, standing committees on Judicial Advisory Polls, Judicial Evaluations Outside Cook County, Budget and Audit and Task Force on the Impact of Law School Curriculum and Debt.  ISBA speaker. Former director, Illinois Bar Foundation; co-chair, 2011 Illinois Bar Foundation Gala. Gold Fellow. Other Activities: member, Chicago Bar; DuPage County Bar; Justinian’s; and American Board of Trial Advocates. Former member, West Suburban Bar and Montgomery County Bar. Current adjunct faculty, DePaul University.  Awards: Super Lawyers, Illinois Rising Star (2013-present). Volunteer, American Mock Trial Association. Native of Raymond. Current member of the Kiwanis Club of Springfield. Currently resides in Springfield with his wife, Ethel.
Word Count 173

Sample Biography for ISBA Print/Electronic Publications

Fred Jones, Springfield. Incumbent. Principal of the Law Offices of Jones and Jones, a practice with a focus in criminal law. Former practice in tort and workers’ compensation law. B.S., University of Illinois; J.D., University of Illinois College of Law. Admitted 1980. ISBA activities: Board of Governors (1996-1999, 2014-present), Secretary (1998-1999), Assembly (1982-1988). Former board liaison to Insurance Law section council. Chair, Insurance Law, Federal Taxation and Family Law section councils.  Member, standing committees on Judicial Advisory Polls, Judicial Evaluations Outside Cook County, Budget and Audit and Task Force on the Impact of Law School Curriculum and Debt.  ISBA speaker. Former director, Illinois Bar Foundation; co-chair, 2011 Illinois Bar Foundation Gala.  Gold Fellow. Other Activities: member, Chicago Bar; DuPage County Bar; Justinian’s; and American Board of Trial Advocates. Former member, West Suburban Bar and Montgomery County Bar. Current adjunct faculty, DePaul University.  Awards: Super Lawyers, Illinois Rising Star (2013-present). Volunteer, American Mock Trial Association.  Native of Raymond. Current member of the Kiwanis Club of Springfield. Currently resides in Springfield with his wife, Ethel. Issue Statement: Increase the participation of law students and young lawyers in sections and committees and in ISBA leadership.
Word Count 198

Candidate Webpage

Candidates for the Board of Governors and Third Vice President may opt to have a candidate webpage on the ISBA website. You may optionally provide the following information:

  • Your photo (we will use photo you suppled eariler in the Candidate Information Filing Form)
  • Your email
  • Biography
  • Issue Statement
  • List of Campaign Supporters
  • Link to a candidate video you would like to include