The Illinois Association of School Boards' monthly newsletter, The Illinois School Board Newsbulletin, published an article in its December 2009 issue featuring Tueth Keeney shareholder, Merry C. Rhoades. The article titled "School Attorney Believes New FOIA will Impose Added Burdens, Costs on Schools", reports on the the fact that Merry provided the welcoming remarks at a pre-conference event at the 23rd Joint Annual Conference, as she assumed her role as Chairperson for the Illinois Council of School Attorneys.

The article further explains that Merry was a presenter at a conference panel session titled "FOIA Rewritten: With Transparency and Accountability for All...", which was the Joint Annual Conference's single largest school law panel, attracting over 300 attendees.  As mentioned in her summary bio reported in the IASB article, Tueth Keeney attorney Merry C. Rhoades has been an education law attorney since 1987 and is perhaps best known for her work in special education and student rights.

Merry C. Rhoades focuses her practice on general counsel services with an emphasis on special education law and student-related issues, school district reorganization matters and tax and finance matters. Because of her more than 20 years experience in representing Illinois public school districts, she has key insights regarding the day-to-day operation of the school district. She has extensive experience in special education administrative hearings, civil rights litigation, state and federal court litigation at the trial and appellate levels, and state administrative hearings.

Merry is an active member of several school related organizations. She is a member of the Illinois Council of School Attorneys Executive Committee and currently serves as its Chairperson and she is a service member to the Illinois Association of School Administrators (IASA). She serves as an Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB) PRESS advisory committee member.  Merry has been asked to speak for such organizations as the Illinois Alliance of Administrators of Special Education (IAASE), the Illinois Association of School Administrators (IASA), the Illinois Principal's Association (IPA) and the Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB) on numerous school related issues.

Tueth, Keeney, Cooper, Mohan & Jackstadt P.C. is proud to be one of the state's largest Illinois education law practices. The firm has one of the most experienced groups of attorneys in Central and Southern Illinois dedicated to serving public schools. We regularly represent nearly 150 public school districts, including many districts in Central and Southern Illinois. Our Firm is also regularly appointed by insurers of educational institutions to represent districts in complex or difficult cases involving school or civil rights laws.