Former Belleville West campus to get fifth tenant since being vacated by Lindenwood
Southern Illinois University School of Law is set to become the fifth tenant at the former Lindenwood University campus in Belleville.
It will lease office space and a classroom from the city of Belleville for its new Metro East Criminal Justice Experiential Learning Program, according to Shelly Page, director of experiential education for the law school, which is based in Carbondale.
Students will take classes with a local judge and attorney while also interning full-time in state and federal judicial systems in St. Clair County.
“One of the things we want our students to be able to do when they graduate is to pass the bar exam, of course, but also to be practice-ready, to hit the ground representing clients, whether they be individual clients or the state of Illinois,” Page said Thursday.
Plans call for the Belleville-based center to start with three students this fall and grow gradually but stay relatively small to keep teacher-student ratios low.
Students will take classes with retired St. Clair County Circuit Court Judge Annette Eckert and Belleville attorney Anna Young and work in offices of the St. Clair County state’s attorney and public defender and U.S. attorney and federal public defender for the U.S. District Court’s Southern District of Illinois.
“Eventually, we are going to be working with the (Illinois State Police Metro-East Forensic Science Laboratory) that’s right next door to the old Lindenwood campus,” Page said.
Belleville Mayor Patty Gregory could not immediately be reached for comment, nor could Eckert or Young. A press conference on the Metro East Criminal Justice Experiential Learning Program is planned for July 25.
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SIU School of Law was established in 1972 on the campus of Southern Illinois University Carbondale. It has about 250 students signed up for fall semester, according to spokesman Pete Rosenbery.
Page gives Dean Camille Davidson credit for pushing forward the idea of a practical training center, noting professors have wanted one for a long time.
“She’s the one who has made sure this will become a reality,” Page said. “Not just talking about it, meeting about it, thinking about it. She has put boots on the ground and made sure it has actually come to fruition.”
The massive brick complex at 2300 W. Main St. originally housed Belleville Township High School and later Belleville West. Missouri-based Lindenwood University operated a satellite campus from 2003 to 2020.
The city bought the property last fall for $3 million. It’s now being called Belleville Educational Complex.
The other four tenants are:
- Southwestern Illinois College, which is moving its Southwestern Illinois Police Academy from its Carlyle Avenue campus.
- Illinois State Police, which is opening the Illinois State Police Forensic Science Institute to train laboratory technicians.
- Southern Illinois Law Enforcement Commission, which is moving from the St. Clair County jail building and expanding training programs for police officers.
- Southwestern Illinois Jets Basketball Club, which is leasing two gymnasiums for practices and games, as well as offices and a locker room.
Earlier this year, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a 2022-23 budget that appropriated $5.9 million for SWIC to manage buildings, grounds, tenants and activities at Belleville Educational Complex.
Editor’s note: This story was updated on July 14 to clarify that the law school operation in Belleville will be called the Metro East Criminal Justice Experiential Learning Program.
This story was originally published July 8, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
