Civics Education Continues During Year Two of the Pandemic

Editor's Introduction: What’s Happening in the Realm of Civics Education Initiatives of the ISBA’s LRE Committee?

For many years, the members of the ISBA Law Related Education (LRE) Committee have been witness to the passion of Committee member, McHenry County Circuit Court Judge Michael J. Chmiel, for his communications about the functions and merits of the legal system to the public, and in particular, to students and teachers in their community schools. Those communications include how the judicial system works and what it can accomplish for the litigants in court proceedings and for the public in general. Thus, we are familiar with the Civics Education Project he has long overseen for LRE which has delivered many benefits to the very communities the Committee is tasked to enlighten. That Project has multiple parts to it that, together, engage a broad cross-section of the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) membership which offers important awareness of the legal system to the intended audiences. 

In his role as ‘overseer’ of the LRE Committee’s Civic Education Project, Judge Chmiel engages in outreach to ISBA members, encouraging them to serve as volunteers for one or more of the Project’s diverse components which are quite varied.  All of them, however, are aimed at serving the public-and its various local government entities that deliver educational resources to their communities-to ensure representatives of the legal profession are present to identify for their populations the various resources related to the functions and purposes of our broad legal system. The following overview of the Project’s initiatives, authored by Judge Chmiel, was shared by him at the October meeting of the LRE Committee. 

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When your author became a judge, he asked to be appointed to the Standing Committee for the Law-Related Education of the Public, a committee of the Illinois State Bar Association (“LRE”). The ‘ask’ was in consideration of his new-found role in the legal system as a Judge, where he could give neither legal advice nor advisory opinions. More than a decade ago, LRE largely focused on the ISBA Mock Trial Invitational. Then, a Civics Education Subcommittee (the “CES”) was formed within the confines of LRE, whose objective was to expand opportunities to educate the public about civics, especially with a focus on the court system. LRE meets about six times each year, to discuss and otherwise advance the efforts of the ISBA with mock trials, presentations to students and their teachers, presentations to adults, and written materials made accessible to the public, including the LRE Newsletter.

ISBA Lawyers in Classrooms is a program which boasts well over 100 volunteers located throughout the State of Illinois. Names and contact information are published at ILCivics.org, which routes the Internet surfer to the offerings of LRE. The volunteers are members of the ISBA and freely give of their time and knowledge to talk about civics. Some topics are suggested in the published listing, but the participants are typically open to other topics which may more readily fit into a lesson plan. With the Pandemic still in effect, many, if not most, presentations continue being offered remotely through Zoom and similar platforms.

ISBA Speakers Bureau is a program which is almost identical to ISBA Lawyers in Classrooms, but with one important exception:  it is designed to teach adults. As with students, members of the ISBA have often commented on the need for adults to be informed, or at least updated, on civics. These presentations are often made to community-based organizations. Recently, the Bureau has received a request from a public library for a presentation on estate planning issues.

Outreach by the CES has also become an important function of the Subcommittee, in that members of the ISBA are often very generous with their time, and stand ready, willing, and able to make presentations.  Often, the challenge is to get ’gigs’. As a consequence, LRE typically participates in the conferences of the Illinois Council for the Social Studies, where presentations to social studies teachers are made and informational tables are staffed. As well, we have reached out to regional superintendents of education, Rotary International, and the like in an effort to inform these officials and organizations of the wide range of civics education programs we offer.

ISBA Civics Education Awards were established a few years ago, to recognize ISBA members who volunteered their time and talents to educate folks about civics. In 2021, three awardees have been recognized, including Judge Jennifer Johnson and Attorneys Steve Rakowski and Stanley Wasser. Judge Johnson sits in the Twenty-Second Judicial Circuit of the State of Illinois, where she handles all of the traffic cases for her Circuit, which is assigned cases for McHenry County, Illinois. In part, she received this recognition for making more than a dozen presentations, often through remote means, and notwithstanding the Pandemic. Attorney Rakowski is engaged in the private practice of law in Chicagoland and received this recognition for his participation in the Speakers Bureau. Attorney Wasser, also engaged in the private practice of law but in Springfield, received this recognition for his years of service on the Mock Trial Subcommittee of LRE. Congratulations are extended by the LRE to each of these highly valued volunteers whom we hope will be an inspiration to others to also offer their time.

Miscellaneous matters related to civics education are regularly considered by the CES and LRE. The CES recently reviewed an Illinois Law Day Program which would be made available to Illinois residents through remote means and involve the leaders of the Illinois legal system. The CES is also working to reach out to libraries throughout the State.  Other civics-related public education items are being developed, and as such, questions, comments, and suggestions are always welcome. Thank you for your consideration of all aspects of our mission.