Springfield, IL, August 27, 2014– The Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education is pleased to name Ernest R. Blomquist III, Jeffrey J. Kroll, and Francis J. Lynch as its 2014 honorees for the Addis E. Hull Award, Publications Volunteer of the Year Award, and Programs Volunteer of the Year Award, respectively.
Chicago Attorney Ernest R. Blomquist III, who has served as Legal Counsel and Prosecutor for the Village of Arlington Heights since 1977, was selected to receive the 2014 Addis E. Hull Award, a distinction established in 1987 to recognize practitioners and judges for “excellence in Illinois continuing legal education.” IICLE® Executive Director Michael J. Rooney says, “The Addis E. Hull Award is voted on by the Board of Directors based upon major contributions in the areas of both legal scholarship and governance of IICLE®. Reviewing the names of past recipients makes clear that they are outstanding lawyers and strong supporters of the Institute in many ways. This year’s awardee, Blomquist, has a long history of involvement with IICLE® as a Board member and volunteer author and speaker, and I am delighted the Board of Directors saw fit to honor him in this fashion.” Blomquist has volunteered with IICLE® for over 30 years.
The honorees for the Publications Volunteer of the Year Award and the Programs Volunteer of the Year Award are selected by IICLE® staff to acknowledge exceptional volunteers in each of these media. “Each year the Institute is pleased to recognize volunteers whose contributions of scholarship in writing and oral presentations have been particularly noted by the staff of the Publications and Programs Departments,” says Rooney. “Our staff works so closely with these volunteers and this is staff’s chance to single out one volunteer from each department for special recognition.”
The Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education (IICLE®) was formally created as the Institute on Continuing Education of the Illinois Bar in 1961. The Illinois State Bar Association organized the Institute as part of the Illinois Bar Foundation. In 1968, the Institute was reorganized as the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education pursuant to a joint effort of the Illinois State Bar Association and the Chicago Bar Association. IICLE® is now an independent not-for-profit 501(c)(3) corporation dedicated to the professional development of Illinois attorneys.
Blomquist has been an IICLE® author and speaker about DUI-related topics for at least 30 years He also served on the IICLE® Board of Directors from approximately 1989-1997 Blomquist is a Senior Partner in Massucci, Blomquist, Anderson & Dunn in Arlington Heights, where he concentrates his practice in criminal litigation and local government issues. He has also been Legal Counsel and Prosecutor for the Village of Arlington Heights since 1977. Previously, Blomquist was Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney, serving as criminal prosecutor for four years. In 2004, he and James Ahern were named IICLE® Volunteers of the Year for their work on the DUI handbook. He has also authored the chapter ‘The Prosecution of DUI and Traffic Cases by Local Governments” in IICLE®’s MUNICIPAL LAW: ORGANIZATION, OPERATION, AND GOVERNANCE handbook. Blomquist has been a faculty member for the National Judicial College, the Circuit Court of Cook County judicial training programs, the Illinois Traffic Court Conference, and IICLE®, as well as an instructor for many other entities, such as the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police, American and Illinois State Bar Associations, and National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys. He was appointed by Illinois Governor James Thompson to the Special Commission on Judicial Merit Selection in 1987 and 1988 and was appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court to its Advisory Board of the Commission on the Evaluation and Performance of Illinois Judges.