The 2026 Multilingual Illinois/ESSA Statewide Conference is an in-person event on December 8-10, 2026, at the Tinley Park Convention Center in Tinley Park, Illinois.

Cost  (includes lunch): 

         Single-day Rate:  $210

This year, we are pleased to welcome a dynamic lineup of keynote speakers: 

Tuesday, 12/8/26 — Jimmy Casas, award-winning educator, best-selling author and founder of the ConnectEDD publishing platform

Wednesday, 12/9/26  — Meg Bates, director of the Illinois Workforce and Education Research Collaborative (IWERC) at the University of Illinois

Thursday, 12/10/26 — Olivia Mulcahy, IRC Specialist, author of Learning In-between Languages and Cultures: Claiming space for bilingual identities and experiences (forthcoming)

More than 120 concurrent sessions will be offered across the three days of the conference. 

Hotel rooms:

A block of hotel rooms is available beginning Dec 7th through Dec 10th, 2026 at the rate of $169/night (this does not include state and local taxes and fees).   The deadline for reservations is Friday, November 27th, 2026. 

The reservation link and contact info are in the confirmation email you’ll receive immediately upon completing this conference registration.

 Payment options:

Visa and Mastercard accepted.

Note: Visa/Mastercard payment will appear on your card statement as The Center and may show the location as Tysons Corner, VA.

If paying by Purchase Order, the vendor name is The Center.  Please send your PO to ircregistration@cntrmail.org as soon as possible, or no later than December 4th, 2026. 

Refund Policy: There are no refunds for cancellations or day changes after Nov 20th, 2026.