About Linda
Linda in the Media
- Chicago Tonight
(PBS - WTTW Chicago)
September 15, 2005 - NBC Nightly News
May 8th, 2005 - National Public Radio
May 7th, 2005 - Chicago Tonight
(PBS - WTTW Chicago)
October 16th 2003 - Live on CNN, Headlines
September 5th,2003 - Chicago Tonight
(PBS - WTTW Chicago)
August 2003 - CNN Cross Fire
April 2002 - Chicago Tonight
(PBS - WTTW Chicago)
April 2002 - Chicago Tonight
(PBS - WTTW Chicago)
May 2002 - Chicago Tonight
(PBS - WTTW Chicago)
June 2002
Ms. Pieczynski conducts municipal training and provides consulting in the areas of code enforcement, community policing, law enforcement and fire prevention. Additionally, she has instructed code officials preparing for certification and conducted housing symposiums for numerous BOCA and International Code Council gatherings.
Ms. Pieczynski is an attorney-at-law engaged in the general practice of law. Her practice has a special emphasis on municipal prosecution in the areas of zoning, property maintenance and building code violations, traffic and quasi-criminal offenses, criminal defense, and juvenile law.
Education
DePaul University, College of Law, Summa Cum Laude
Legal Experience
Linda S. Pieczynski, Attorney At Law, P.C.
1984 - Present
Engaged in the general practice of law. Special emphasis on municipal prosecution in the area of zoning and building code violations, traffic and quasi-criminal offenses, and juvenile law. Municipal training and consulting in the areas of code enforcement, community policing, law enforcement and fire prevention.
Called as an expert witness before the Independent Review Panel of Building Safety
Enforcement Powers of the City of Chicago in connection with the E2 Nightclub tragedy
Served an as expert witness for the City of College Park, MD in a rental inspection lawsuit.
State’s Attorney’s Office, DuPage County Illinois
Deputy Chief, Criminal Division
1977 - 1984
Responsibilities included training new attorneys and overseeing their performance in court, advising law enforcement agencies on matters of mutual concern, assigning cases and projects daily to the staff, serving as a liaison to community organizations, conducting seminars for law enforcement agencies an recruiting law students for office’s intern program. Duties as an assistant state’s attorney included extensive litigation experiences in the area of felony, misdemeanor, juvenile and traffic offenses.
Professional and Academic Experience
On the Job, web based training for the Suburban Law Enforcement Academy, College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, IL, 2009 to present
Committee member Hazard Abatement Committee, International Code Council, 2009 to present
International Code Council (formerly BOCA International)
Country Club Hills, Illinois
Instructor, 1996 to present
Courses: Legal Aspects of Code Administration, Managing Distressed Properties for Code Inspectors, Gathering Evidence for Code Officials, When Disaster Strikes, Legal Aspects of Property Maintenance and Housing Enforcement. Audio Virtual Seminar: Legal Issues: Questions raised by the Chicago and Rhode Island Nightclub Tragedies
Legal Aspects has been taught for code officials in the following states: Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Michigan, Ohio, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Oregon, Florida, Arizona, Tennessee, Kentucky, Minnesota, Rhode Island, Colorado, Wisconsin, Nevada and for the cities of Washington, D.C. and Phoenix. Presentations have also included the BOCA International’s annual and mid-year conventions, in Norfolk, Virginia, Overland Park, Kansas and Lexington, Kentucky and its Housing Symposium in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Technical Advisor and Technical Reviewer for the on-line course entitled “Right of Entry” from the 2000 International Building Code.
Non-ICC sponsored seminars taught since 1996 have included “Building Blocks of Code Enforcement”, “Legal Liability of Code Officials”, “Search and Seizure Issues for Code Officials”, “Multi-Family Housing Issues”, “Property Maintenance Issues” and “Effective Enforcement of the Property Maintenance Code,” lectures for the Apartment Community Enhancement program in Carol Stream and presentations for the Illinois Environmental Health Association, Illinois Fire Inspectors’ Association and Illinois Association of Code Enforcement.
DuPage Bar Association, Wheaton, Illinois
Presenter at CLE Seminars:
Juvenile Law Update January 2007, 2008, 2009
Code Issues for the Real Estate Practitioner April 2007
McHenry County Bar Association and McHenry County Juvenile Officers Association: Presenter at CLS Seminar, Juvenile Law Update 200
National-Louis University, Evanston, Illinois
Adjunct Professor, June, 1985 to 1996.
Courses: Workshop in Issues in Child Abuse and Neglect for Educators, Youth in Crisis, Graduate Level
DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois
Part time lecturer, September 1976 to March, 1977, Spring 1987
Courses: Law and Society, Criminology
College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, Illinois
Part-time instructor
January to December, 1985
Courses: Introduction to Criminal Justice, Constitutional Law
Northeast Multi-Regional Training, Aurora, Illinois
Instructor, October, 1984 to June, 1986,
Courses: Juvenile Law for Law Enforcement Personnel
Publications
Illinois Criminal Jury Instructions Companion Handbook 2009-2010 Edition, West, Thomson Reuters
The Building Process Simplified, Delmar Cengage Learning, 2009
The Residential Inspector’s Guide to Codes, Forms and Complaints, Delmar Cengage Learning, 2008
The Fire Inspector’s Guide to Codes, Forms and Complaints, Delmar Cengage Learning, 2007
The Building Official’s and Inspector’s Guide to Codes, Forms and Complaints, Delmar Cengage Learning, 2007
The Property Maintenance Inspector’s Guide to Codes, Forms and Complaints, Delmar Cengage Learning, 2006
IIlinois Criminal Practice and Procedure 2d(2005), 3 volumes, updated yearly. Thomson/West
Roll Call News a bimonthly newsletter for law enforcement agencies. Subscribers include over 130 agencies in the state of Illinois.
Building Department Administration, 3rd edition, International Code Council, Inc., “Legal Aspects” chapter, 2007
Legal Aspects of Code Administration, 3rd edition, International Code Council, Inc., assisted with the rewrite and editing of this legal guide for code enforcement officials.
“Keeping Our Children Safe” Brochure for the National Pastoral Life Institute on child sexual abuse prevention, 2003. Originally published in Church magazine.
“Survey of Illinois Law: Criminal Law and Procedure”, Southern Illinois University Law Journal, Vol.17, Summer 1993.
“Using Ordinances to Encourage Property Maintenance”, DCBA Brief, February 1993.
“Evidence of Gang Affiliation at Criminal Trials and Sentencing Hearings”, DCBA Brief, March 1991.
“A Defendant’s Past Comes Back to, Haunt Him”, DuPage County Lawyers Bulletin, April 1985.
Handbook for the DuPage Count State’s Attorney’s Office, Criminal Division (1982) 314 pages.