Student Legal Service Attorneys
Thomas E. Betz
Thomas E. Betz is the directing attorney for the office, currently nearing his twenty-third year with the program. Betz is a 1981 graduate of Wayne State University Law School, a member of the Illinois Bar and formerly a member of the Michigan Bar. He is a member of the Champaign-Urbana Tenant Union Community Advisory Board. Mr. Betz is also an elected member of the Champaign County Board, since 1995, and serves as Vice Chairman of the Board; Chairman of the Policy, Appointments, and Procedures Committee; and is a member of the Facilities Committee and the Labor Negotiations Committee. Betz is also, for the fifth year, the Chair of the “Elizabeth Berg Streeter Community Service Award” committee of the National Legal Aid and Defenders Association -- Student Legal Services Section.
Susan Y. Hessee
Susan Y. Hessee, a 1982 graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law, is in her nineteenth year as a program staff attorney. Hessee is a member of the Illinois and Michigan Bar Associations. She is active with the Champaign County Bar Association, Health Care Consumers, Planned Parenthood, and the American Civil Liberties Union. A member of St. John the Divine Episcopal Church, she is member of the choir and serves on the Discernment Committee.
Mary Ann Midden
Mary Ann Midden became a staff attorney with the office February 1, 2008. She graduated from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale’s Law School in 1979. She started working with students while an Assistant City Attorney for Carbondale for four years and subsequently continued while an Assistant City Attorney for Champaign from 1985 to 1994.
She has experience handling misdemeanor and traffic tickets as well as housing complaints and landlord complaints. She brings to the office, in addition, experience in discrimination and harassment disputes, contract law, and mental health issues.