November 12, 2008 - Job Opportunity at RSI

A Director of Administration position is now open at RSI. Please click here for details.

September 2, 2008 - RSI Releases Spring/Summer 2008 Newsletter

The latest edition of RSI's newsletter, Analyzing the Alternatives, is now available online. The issue includes a feature on a recent report from the American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution's Task Force on Improving Mediation Quality, which identified four essential practices mediators and lawyers could follow to improve the quality of their mediations. The newsletter also includes an update on RSI's Statewide Mediation Access Project, which seeks to improve access to mediation services for poor and low-income disputants in Illinois.

To read the Spring/Summer 2008 edition of Analyzing the Alternatives, click here.

July 30, 2008 - Madison County Arbitration Program Has Successful First Year

One year after the Madison County, Illinois, Circuit Court began its mandatory arbitration program, court administrators there have deemed it a success. All civil cases for monetary claims of $10,000 to $50,000 are automatically sent to arbitration. According to an article in the Belleville News-Democrat, 741 cases were filed with the program last year, and only 10% remain open. The program enjoys a 26% award rejection rate, as compared to the state average of 54%. Less than 2% of cases went to trial. Associate Judge Ralph Mendelsohn, who supervises the program, said it has helped take pressure off the court system.

To learn more about the Madison County program, visit the Court ADR Resource Center Illinois Court ADR Sourcebook.