A panel of Illinois judiciary members and stakeholders has developed a three-year plan with support from SJI, and technical assistance provided by Brenda Wagenknecht-Ivey from Praxis Consulting, Inc.

The plan outlines a mission statement, vision edict, and five core values meant to be its “blueprint for the future” developed through the Illinois Judicial Conference, which included non-judicial members – the Director of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts and 13 other justice partners selected by the Court from the following categories: court clerks, court administrators, attorneys, and public members.

“If the courts are to continue to make good on the promise of equal justice under law in this new and challenging environment, we must be proactive. Waiting for problems to develop and then responding will no longer do,” Illinois Chief Justice Lloyd Karmeier wrote in the document released last week. “Rather, it is critical that we anticipate the difficulties ahead and prepare for them in a reasoned and coordinated way, drawing on the insights and experience of every part, every level and every region of the Judicial Branch.”

The Judicial Conference crafted the Strategic Agenda’s five goals to address those difficulties, and strive for ensuring that state courts throughout Illinois are, “trusted and open to all by being fair, innovative, diverse, and responsive to changing needs.”

A panel of 29 conference members — 15 judges from varying levels and geographic areas and 14 non-judicial members – worked to provide the basis of the 13-page document, and promised to revisit for progress at regular intervals.