Legally Speaking

In Episode 10, veteran courts reporter Mary Schenk huddles with Tom Betz, hired as a staff attorney for the University of Illinois Student Legal Service in 1986. Betz open up  about what his office can — and can’t — do for UI students.

In Episode 9 of ''Legally Speaking," host Mary Schenk chats up Malby Huddleston, a highly skilled and highly regarded Spanish to English translator/interpreter who appears in state and federal courts in East Central Illinois — and beyond.

In Episode 9 of ''Legally Speaking," host Mary Schenk chats up Meiby Huddleston, a highly skilled and highly regarded Spanish to English translator/interpreter who appears in state and federal courts in East Central Illinois — and beyond.

In episode 8 of "Legally Speaking," Mary Schenk talks to Siobhan Reynolds about a conference she has single-handedly pulled together to give sometimes hopeless young people a reason to have hope. It features free food, hip entertainment and lots of good messages from adults who, despite challenges, made choices that benefitted them and their communities.

Lisa Little is a force to be reckoned with as a court advocate for women seeking judicial protection from abusers. For the seventh episode of Mary Schenk’s "Legally Speaking," Little talks about the nature of domestic violence and her work with Urbana-based Courage Connection, a social service agency that caters to victims abused by people they once really loved.

In Episode 6, longtime N-G crimes and courts writer Mary Schenk chats with Allen Jones, chief deputry at the Champaign County Sheriff's Office who has become his office’s point man for improving mental health services for inmates in the county jail. He’s also working on a related initiative to expand mental health services to families in crisis so that police don’t have to get involved in matters that aren’t criminal.

Jeff Vercler, a 22-year member of the Champaign County Sheriff's Office and a 20-year member of the METRO SWAT team, chats with crime and courts reporter Mary Schenk about how police response to active shooters has changed over the years.

In Episode 4, Mary Schenk huddles with Melissa Clagg, supervisor for the court reporters who take down the verbatim proceedings of what is being said in Champaign County's courtrooms. It's a different kind of reporting than what Schenk does.

In Episode 3 of Mary Schenk's monthly chat with players in Champaign County’s justice system, 40-year veteran Champaign County Court Services Director Joe Gordon opens up before his retirement in June.

In Episode 2, Mary Schenk speaks with Champaign County Childrens Advocacy Center employees who work with law enforcement and the Department of Children and Family Services to investigate the allegations of children who have been abused.