The Illinois Supreme Court announced the Illinois bar exam will be held as an online-only exam.
Pushed Back
The in-person examination was originally scheduled for July 28-29, but was pushed back to September 9-10 due to concerns about COVID-19. That date has now been canceled and replaced with an online exam to be held on October 5-6 using questions prepared by the National Conference of Bar Examiners.
All registrants for the September exam dates have been automatically registered for the online exam in October and have until August 7 to opt out with a refund or defer until February 2021. The Office of Bar Admission will notify applicants regarding further details of the exam.
Recent Increase in Cases
The Illinois Board of Admissions to the Bar said in a release they have been monitoring COVID-19 statistics in Illinois and were hopeful for an in-person exam using social distancing and other precautions. However, increased cases over the last week led to a recommendation for the online exam.
Almost 1,900 people had signed up for the original July exam dates. The Illinois bar must be passed before practicing law in the state.
Naperville News 17’s Casey Krajewski reports.
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