At its August 1, 2015 board meeting, the Illinois News Broadcasters Association voted to recognize Webber & Thies, P.C. shareholder, Richard L. Thies, with the Distinguished Service Award. Mr. Thies worked for many years to bring cameras and microphones into the trial courts of Illinois. According to Mr. Thies, “Opening courts to cameras and electronic devices helps ensure that the public has an opportunity to see the courts at work.”
Mr. Thies’s efforts contributed to the Illinois Supreme Court Policy for Extended Media Coverage in the Circuit Courts of Illinois (EMC Policy), introduced as a pilot program on January 24, 2012: “Upon application and approval by the Supreme Court of Illinois, a judicial circuit of the circuit courts of Illinois may allow extended media coverage of public judicial proceedings on an experimental basis in accordance with the provisions of this policy.” The EMC Policy was amended on February 22, 2016 to discontinue the pilot program and adopt the policy as permanent.
Webber & Thies, P.C. is a full-service law firm based in Champaign-Urbana whose attorneys have been serving Central Illinois for more than 70 years.