Mercer County Lawyers

With over 35 years of experience, Andy Hale is a seasoned trial attorney and has been involved in numerous high-profile cases. Mr. Hale represents clients in a wide variety of civil rights matters, including wrongful convictions. Mr. Hale seeks to shine a light on cases of injustice and he is also a documentary film producer ("A Murder In The Park" and "White Boy") and podcaster ("The Starved Rock Murders with Andy Hale"). His cases frequently appear in various forms of media, such as HBO's "The Murders at Starved Rock." Mr. Hale is a member of the State bars of Illinois, California, and Florida.

Shawn Barnett is a skilled litigator and trial attorney who is dedicated to helping those who have been victimized by law enforcement or correctional officers. He has received multiple million-dollar settlements for his clients and has been recognized as an Illinois Rising Star multiple times. During his time as an attorney, Shawn has represented numerous clients who have been injured by those who have abused their authority. He has vigorously pursued a wide variety of claims on behalf of his clients, including false arrest, malicious prosecution, excessive force, wrongful death, and sexual assault. Shawn has a particular focus on police involved...

Todd is the Senior Partner of Kanoski Bresney. He is also the Senior Trial Attorney who manages the complex litigation division of the law firm. Kanoski Bresney was established over 40 years ago and is a full service personal injury law firm that has 8 central Illinois office locations and a litigation practice that spans throughout the State of Illinois.

He has worked at the Federal Trade Commission and the States Attorney for Cook County. However, he spent the majority of his early career in Chicago representing and defending some of the largest insurers and corporations in the country.

Since 2002,...

Licensed to practice since 2008, Thomas Howard has represented numerous financial institutions in litigation to enforce their security interests. Over the past decade, he has assisted community banks in complex commercial workouts involving some of the most sophisticated financial products in the banking industry. He has also litigated in contested contract cases on various legal theories. Since 2015, he has been named both a Rising Star from Super Lawyers and an Emerging Lawyer by Leading Lawyers. He also extensively represents secured creditors in various avenues of commercial loan enforcement through all aspects of litigation, from commercial workouts through...

Since 1993, we've been helping the accused by listening, preparing, protecting, and caring. Founded in Minneapolis in 1993, we have devoted our practice to only criminal defense. You will be asked to be a part of our team, as no one knows the facts better than you. Together we will gather all the evidence, hidden and apparent, the forgotten, and your discoveries. We will not pressure you to plead guilty, and we will brainstorm together to figure out the best course of action: trial or no trial. Allow us the opportunity to listen to you, work with you, fight for...

Kathy has spent her entire legal career advocating for fair compensation to those who are injured and believes in the mission to do the right thing, not the convenient thing on behalf of Kanoski Bresney's clients. Kathy believes the greatest accomplishments she has received are the words of appreciation and gratefulness from those she has represented.

Kathy was born in Spring Valley, Illinois, and grew up in a small town in Peoria County, Illinois. Kathy attended the University of Illinois in Champaign/Urbana, and she was on the Dean's List several semesters and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Liberal Arts...

Chuck enjoys representing injured workers against large insurance companies and employers, working to assure that they receive the medical care that they need to recover and the benefits that they and their families require during the recovery process, as well as a fair settlement or award after treatment is complete.

He enjoys the unique challenges that each case presents and assisting clients with understanding and maneuvering through the always evolving worker's compensation law and procedure.

Charles (Chuck) Edmiston grew up in the small town of Abingdon, Illinois and attended the University of Illinois, graduating with high honors and a degree in Journalism...

Tim Mahoney is the principal attorney at Mahoney & Mahoney, LLC. As a lawyer specializing in personal injury, he has covered many injury types, ranging from motor vehicle accidents like car, motorcycle, and truck accidents to nursing home abuse and neglect. Tim Mahoney’s decades of experience can help your claim succeed. After graduating from St. Ambrose University in 1989, Tim Mahoney pursued a Juris Doctor from Northern Illinois University College of Law. There, he was the third person to be inducted into the Moot Court Hall of Fame. He graduated in 1992. While attorney Tim Mahoney has practiced in many...

Jennifer Bunker Skerston has worked in the Illinois Valley legal community for the past seven years handling many litigation related matters including will contests, property tax appeals, breach of contract, and personal injury claims.

Jennifer Bunker Skerston is actively involved in the Illinois State Bar Association Trusts and Estates Section Council. She is the Editor of the Council’s monthly publication distributed to members throughout Illinois. She also assists the Council in providing continuing legal education to attorneys, determining the need for new legislation, and reviewing and suggesting changes to current legislative proposals affecting wills, trusts and estates....

James T. Reilly has been practicing since 1979. He is an experienced trial lawyer with over fifty jury cases tried to verdict. He concentrates his practice in both civil and criminal litigation. Jury awards include medical malpractice, wrongful death, fraud prosecution and various types of personal injuries. He has defended cases in criminal courts ranging from fitness trials in murder cases to DUI’s. In addition to these, he has successfully defended persons charged with arson, aggravated battery, drug offenses and other felonies and misdemeanors.

Reilly has served as a LaSalle County Assistant Public Defender since 2000. He represents clients before the...

Rob became licensed to practice law in Illinois in 2009. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys, one of only approximately 340 attorneys in the U.S. and Canada. According to their website, members are experts in the complexities of adoption law and the variety of interstate and international regulations surrounding adoption*, and must maintain their practice according to the highest standards of ethics, competence and professionalism. Rob is also a member of the Peoria County Bar Association, chairing and assisting in a number of committees; the American Bar Association; and a Barrister in the...

native of central Illinois, Attorney, Jerry A. Tuffentsamer, was raised in the local small community of Manito, Illinois. Prior to attending law school, Jerry worked for several years in the central Illinois as union construction laborer out of the Laborers’ International Union, Local 231. As a union laborer, Jerry worked several years for a local commercial concrete and masonry company.

Jerry received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Paralegal Studies/Pre-law from Southern Illinois University in 2008. Jerry then received his Juris Doctor from Southern Illinois University School of Law in 2011. While in law school, Jerry was a member of...

Jeffrey R. Hall has practiced law since 2004, concentrating in the area of Criminal Law, DUI/DWI and Traffic Law. He began working as an Assistant State’s Attorney in Tazewell County, IL. Prior to that service, Mr. Hall worked as an intern/clerk at the venerable law firm of Miller, Hall & Triggs, LLC where he handled matters in Real Estate and Business. As an Assistant State’s Attorney, Mr. Hall prosecuted in the traffic and misdemeanor divisions, as well as the Felony Traffic Division. Mr. Hall gained experience as an aggressive trial attorney winning most of his...

Larry joined the Springfield office of Kanoski Bresney in 1989 and opened the firm's Bloomington office in 1995. Along with his staff of dedicated legal assistants in Bloomington and Champaign, Larry has successfully represented thousands of personal injury and workers’ compensation clients throughout central Illinois for more than 30 years.

Larry was born in Freeport, Illinois, and raised in the Chicago area with three brothers. After graduating from Illinois State University in 1983 with a Bachelor of Science degree focusing on business administration and accounting, he attended the University of Illinois College of Law in Urbana-Champaign, earning his Juris Doctor degree...

Mr. Harrington joined the firm of Kanoski Bresney in November of 2014. Prior to making the move, he was a personal injury defense attorney for more than 20 years. This background and experience allow him to anticipate the defenses the insurance companies will use and stop them from wrongly denying your claims.

Suffering an unexpected personal injury can be frightening and traumatic. The most gratifying part of his job is the initial meeting with clients, where he can answer all their questions, explain exactly what to expect, and alleviate their concerns in their time of need. His practice includes all types...

Gina received her Bachelor's Degree from the University of Illinois and Juris Doctor from Southern Illinois University School of Law. During her law school career, Gina served as the Assistant Managing Editor of the Journal of Legal Medicine's Legal Medicine Perspectives.

Additionally, she interned at the St. Clair County State's Attorney's Office. Following graduation from law school, Gina worked for a large general practice defense firm in Springfield, Illinois. In 2018, Gina decided to focus her career on helping the injured and joined Kanoski Bresney.

Gina's pro bono activities are as follows:
Prairie State Legal Services, Volunteer Attorney, 2016 – present

Mr. Arnquist is an experienced courtroom litigator who understands what it takes to win your case. Whether you need representation for an issue related to child support, a complicated divorce case, or a contested custody dispute, Mr. Arnquist will aggressively advocate on your behalf. Mr. Arnquist practices in Ogle, Lee, Whiteside, DeKalb and Stephenson Counties. Please call for a free consultation.

I help people across central Illinois obtain relief from their debt through filing bankruptcy. I represent people in both Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy. I am licensed to practice in Illinois, am a member of the Illinois State Bar Association, and am admitted to practice in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois.

I received my Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Management from Eureka College where I also minored in Spanish. I then received my law degree from Southern Illinois University School of Law. While in law school I worked in the...

Bill was born and raised in Peoria, IL. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a B.A. degree in Government. He received his law degree (JD) at the University of Iowa graduating with honors. He has been practicing law in Central Illinois since his graduation and admission into the Illinois Bar. Legal ability and ethical standards ratings are published each year by the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory.Bill has the highest possible rating of AV. The legal ability rating is "A" which means he is rated as very high to preeminent. The "V" rating means that he embraces faithful adherence...

Zachary Townsend is licensed in Illinois and Wisconsin and focuses his practice in divorce and family law. His firm, Pro Legal Care LLC, has offices in Rockford, IL and Freeport, IL.

John Chwarzynski is an experienced Illinois attorney who focuses his practice on representing clients in wrongful death, medical malpractice, premises liability, sexual assault, and automobile cases.

John joined Hale & Monico as a trial lawyer in 2019 after working at a well-respected personal injury firm in Chicago. John is known for his exceptional work ethic, charisma, and writing skills. He has successfully argued motions in both state and federal court.

Call or visit his website for more information.

A lifelong resident of Illinois, John Waldman raised his family in the Pekin/Peoria area, where he resides today. John attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, graduating with University Honors with a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science and Paralegal Studies. He began practicing law after graduating from the University of Illinois College of Law in 1988.

After law school, John began working for a law firm that primarily did work for insurance companies, defending personal injury and workers' compensation claims. Trying to save insurance companies money at the expense of innocent accident victims was not very rewarding. He joined Kanoski Bresney in...

Roby Javoronok joined Kanoski Bresney as an associate in October 2020 with over 14 years of workers’ compensation experience. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he spent his childhood in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. Roby graduated cum laude at Western Illinois University and Illinois Centennial Honors College before attending law school at Southern Illinois University. He enjoys traveling and working throughout Illinois. After law school, he has happily resided in Central Illinois.
Roby concentrates his practice in workers’ compensation and civil litigation. Roby has litigated cases on behalf of petitioners and respondents in each Illinois Workers Compensation Commission venue, giving...

Brian Monico is a skilled litigator who is dedicated to serving those in wrongful death, professional malpractice, personal injury, and civil rights cases.

He graduated from the Loyola University School of Law and has since become a leader in the development and use of computer-generated graphics and electronic presentations to juries. He has been recognized by the Illinois Super Lawyers and Leading Lawyers multiple times, as well as being the #1 Lawyer Under 40 by Emerging Lawyers in 2016.

He has extensive experience doing plaintiff's personal injury work and has used this experience to help those in all types of personal injury...

Todd received his Juris Doctor from Loyola University School of Law Chicago in 2005. For more than 10 years following law school, he served as a Special Assistant Attorney General for the Illinois Department of Transportation and Illinois Toll Highway Authority. In this trusted position, Todd litigated eminent domain cases on behalf of IDOT and the ISTHA. In addition, during this time Todd also served as a defense attorney in personal injury lawsuits. Todd also served as local liquor counsel for several high-end hotels and restaurants, including the Palmer House Hilton, Hilton Towers, Hilton Rosemont, Hilton Chicago O’Hare Airport, Hilton...

Attorney Christopher S. McCall is a Peoria criminal defense lawyer who has dealt with a wide variety of criminal charges and is equipped and qualified to take on your case and support you at this time. He attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he received his undergraduate degree. From there, he went on to earn his Juris Doctorate at the University of Illinois College of Law at Urbana-Champaign. He has dealt with all kinds of cases and accusations, and his experience can of great benefit to you at this time. Prior to opening McCall Law Offices, he worked...

Tyler Phillips began his legal career as solo practitioner following graduation from the St. Louis University School of Law in 2012. Thereafter, Tyler joined Blickhan, Timmerwilke, Woodworth & Larson in Quincy, Illinois and engaged in a diverse area of practice including divorce, domestic relations, real estate, estate planning, criminal defense, and civil litigation, in both Illinois and Missouri. Tyler joined the firm of Hauk and Owens in 2016 where he continued his practice in both Illinois and Missouri. Tyler joined the firm Rober Law, P.C. in October of 2022, as a partner where he continues to advocate for his clients...