Code Attorney

The recent class I taught for the Suburban Law Enforcement Academy at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn was very well attended and the feedback was terrific.  Apparently the information covered was very valuable for the audience which was a mixture of police officers and code enforcement personnel.  Too often law enforcement officers are intimidated when dealing with corporate entities as defendants, mainly because they don’t understand the procedures that have to be followed. In class, I tried to demystify the corporate process by showing how easy it is to search for corporate information on the Secretary of State website and how to look up ownership at the Recorder of Deeds website.  Sometimes law enforcement officers don’t know how to find out who owns property.  It can be critical when dealing with rental property.  I also discussed how to use condemnation and demolition proceedings when trying to deal with problem properties as well as overcrowding issues and rental inspection ordinances.  I’m going to be teaching the class again on February 26, 2010 and may even be taking the “show on the road”.  I think law enforcement officials are eager to add new crime fighting tools to their techniques, especially with the number of vacant and abandoned buildings increasing in communities.