Rule 7.08 - ALL CLAIMS VOLUNTARY PRO SE MEDIATIONA.Purpose. The bench and bar of McHenry County, having recognized the success of court-annexed alternate dispute programs and recognizing a particular need in the area of small claims cases wherein parties represent themselves, adopt these rules to assist the litigants in small claim disputes and to maximize the efficiency of court time in the small claims system.B.Actions Eligible. This program will be available to small claims cases where all parties appear pro se at the initial return date. In addition, this service may be offered to any other small claims case which the Presiding Judge feels might be appropriate and parties volunteer to participate. This program shall be strictly voluntary and shall be offered to the litigants as a service. No litigant is required to participate.C.Scheduling. In McHenry County, with the assistance of the clerk's office, cases filed by pro se plaintiffs will automatically be assigned a return date on the second or fourth Thursday of each month. The McHenry County Bar Association will make every effort to provide volunteer mediators on those dates.D.Return Date Procedure. On the second and fourth Thursday of the month, the Presiding Judge of the small claims division will confirm that volunteer mediators are available. The judge will then provide a brief explanation to litigants about the availability of the program and its voluntary nature. He or she will then call the cases filed by pro se plaintiffs. In cases deemed appropriate for the mediation program, the judge will offer that option and will send participating parties to the office of the Court Administrator for immediate mediation. At that point, the volunteer mediators will conduct settlement discussions (in the jury rooms connected to the arbitration center, if available). Upon completion of the mediation session, the mediator will send the parties back to the courtroom with appropriate documents for filing.E.Mediator Training/Qualifications. The approved list of mediators shall be maintained by the Presiding Judge of the small claims division. To qualify for the list of mediators, a volunteer must be a member of the McHenry County Bar Association and must have completed basic training to act as a mediator. The training shall be informal and shall be conducted by one of the experienced mediators on the list. When in the judgment of the trainer the candidate is qualified, he or she will present the name of the trainee to the Presiding Judge for final approval.F. The mediators will be scheduled to participate by a member of the Civil Practice Committee of the McHenry County Bar Association, designated as the "mediation coordinator." This coordinator shall be elected by the Civil Practice Committee and may be rotated from time to time as the members of that committee see fit.G.Forms. The Civil Practice Committee shall provide basic forms for the administration of this program. These forms will include a "Confidentiality Agreement" (patterned after the confidentiality agreement used in the major civil case mediation program), a form "Agreement" to be filed in the event that a settlement agreement is reached, and two court orders. One court order will dismiss the case with prejudice but allow the court to retain jurisdiction for a period of time to enforce the settlement. The second order will acknowledge that the parties did not settle the case at mediation and will contain a blank space for the judge to fill in a trial date. H.Statistics. Commencing with the formal adoption of these rules, the Arbitration Administrator will maintain statistics indicating the number of cases sent to mediation and the results of the mediation process. These statistics will be reviewed periodically by the Presiding Judge of the small claims division to determine the effectiveness of the program. The Presiding Judge of the small claims division may, at any time, suspend or discontinue this program should he or she feel it is no longer effective or necessary.Ill. R. Cir. Ct. McHenry Cnty. 7.08