Jim Deiters and Alex Todd combine for over 40 years of experience working in city, village and district libraries throughout northern Illinois; including 20 years of experience leading libraries as their director. Both Jim and Alex come from library families. Jim's mother was director at the Tinley Park Public Library while Alex's dad was director at the Fountaindale Public Library District. Although neither saw themselves as librarians when they were young, the profession's calling was ultimately too strong to resist. Jim and Alex met through the Library Administrators Conference of Northern Illinois (LACONI). As partners in its leadership circle, they oversaw a successful restructuring of LACONI's popular salary survey . The two paired up again as co-chairs of ILA's Advocacy Committee. During their tenure, they helped rewrite the committee's charter, implemented an annual work calendar and increased the number and quality of advocacy-related programs and workshops offered at ILA's annual conference, Reaching Forward and other regional and statewide events.