Ruth Alderman Schlossberg

RUTH ALDERMAN SCHLOSSBERG is Of Counsel with the firm of Zukowski, Rogers, Flood & McArdle, where she represents municipalities and other local governmental entities. She previously served as City Attorney for the City of Woodstock, Illinois. Ruth advises both home rule and non-home rule clients on a broad range of municipal matters, including governance, Open Meetings Act and Freedom of Information Act compliance, contracts, sales tax issues, economic development incentives, zoning and land use, regulatory compliance, bulk electric power purchasing, and other complex transactions. She also represents private-sector clients in land use, development, and business transactions. Ruth played a key role in the City of Woodstock’s innovative historic tax credit transaction, working closely with City officials and private investors to facilitate the successful renovation of the City’s historic courthouse.

Ruth has long been active in advancing education and public policy for municipalities throughout the state. She has been a frequent speaker on municipal law topics and is co-author of the widely used Illinois Municipal League publication, Handbook for Newly Elected Officials: A Practical Guide to Local Government (now in its fifth edition). She also co-authored the chapter on Intergovernmental Agreements in the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education’s (IICLE) Municipal Law Series and has served on the faculty of IICLE’s annual Local Government Law seminar. Ruth has served on the Illinois State Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Legislation and the Local Government Law Section Council, as well as on the Illinois Municipal League’s Governance Policy Committee and Home Rule Attorneys Committee.

Employment History

Formerly a member of the District of Columbia bar, Ruth started her practice in the Washington, D.C. office of the law firm of Arnold & Porter. She has also served as the assistant dean and director for executive education at Northwestern University School of Law and oversaw the growth of an international graduate law program at the law school. Additionally, Ruth served as the legal and research director of an international human rights group, where her work focused on human rights in what was still the Soviet Union

Bar/Professional Association Involvement

Illinois State Bar Association
Standing Committee on Legislation
Local Government Law Section Council
Illinois Municipal League
Governance Policy Committee
Home Rule Attorneys Committee

Awards; Honors; Distinctions

Leading Lawyers
Leading Lawyer, 2019-present
Land Use, Zoning & Condemnation Law
Governmental, Municipal, Lobbying & Administrative Law

Published Legal Writing

Co-author, “Handbook for Newly Elected Officials: A Practical Guide to Local Government,” Illinois Municipal League, 5th edition

Co-author, “Chapter on Intergovernmental Agreements,” Municipal Law Series, IICLE

Legal Lectures 

Faculty, “Annual Local Government Law Seminar,” IICLE