Illinois Pol Says State Could Ax Two Law Schools, Including His Alma Mater
A candidate for Illinois state treasurer has a plan to save money: Eliminate two of the state’s three law schools, including his alma mater.
Scott Summers, an estate planning lawyer, says the state’s law schools at Northern Illinois and Southern Illinois universities could be trimmed down or even “mothballed,” the Daily Herald reports. Summers, the Green Party candidate for treasurer, is a graduate of NIU’s law school.
“We have three public law schools,” Summers told the Daily Herald. “And another seven or eight private law schools and a whole bunch of unemployed lawyers and underemployed lawyers. How long can we as taxpayers continue to support this?”
Summers said the state “got by just fine” with one public law school, at the University of Illinois, until SIU’s law school opened in 1973. Summers is a former trustee for McHenry County College.
