Illinois municipalities have several ways to annex unincorporated property. One of the most consequential is Section 7-1-13 of the Illinois Municipal Code, which permits a municipality, without a landowner’s consent, to annex certain unincorporated territory containing 60 acres or less if the territory is “wholly bounded” by one of several combinations of municipalities and other specified land. In the provision at issue in Husky Trans, Inc. v. Village of Barrington Hills, the qualifying boundaries are one or more municipalities together with a forest preserve district or park district. 65 ILCS 5/7-1-13(a)(e).

The Illinois Supreme Court is now considering a…
Continue Reading Forced Annexation in Illinois: Supreme Court to Decide Whether a Boundary Gap Can Be “De Minimis”

Congress just bought the hemp industry twenty-nine more days. That is the entire substance of the hemp ban delay that cleared the House on September 1, 2026 by a 370-48 vote: the Section 781 restrictions that would have wiped out most of the intoxicating hemp market on November 12 now land on December 11 instead. The Senate had already blessed it 90-6 back in August. It sits on the President’s desk awaiting signature, and the White House is the entity that asked for it in the first place.
If you sell delta-8, THCA flower, or THC beverages, resist the urge…
Continue Reading Hemp Ban Delay: 7 Critical Moves Before Dec. 11

Entering law school can be an intimidating thing for a student as they begin their journey toward a career in law.  From new concepts to heavy workloads and competition, it can take some getting used to. Lea Gaetto, a law clerk at Ankin Law in our personal injury department, found that out first hand in 2025.  “It was very challenging. I never expected school to be that difficult,” said Lea of her 1L year at UIC Law.  In that spirit, Lea decided to share a few tips for those who are starting law school over the next few weeks. 

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    Continue Reading Going to Law School for The First Time? Here Are Some Tips

    Question:
    I am the managing partner of a ten lawyer firm in Kansas City, Missouri. There are five partners and five associates in the firm. We are an insurance defense firm and our clients are a handful of insurance companies. Our cases are primarily slip and fall, premises liability, and auto accident cases. I have been the managing partner for two years and frankly I am getting burned out on the position and none of the other partners want the job. I am working 60-70 hours a week and am spending so much time on administrative matters that I don’t…
    Continue Reading Law Firm Management – What is Keeping Law Firm Owners and Managing Partners Awake at Night

    Employers acquiring a business with a unionized workforce may soon have more flexibility to challenge the incumbent union’s status than they have had for decades. On July 21, the D.C. Circuit held in Hospital Menonita de Guayama, Inc. v. NLRB that the National Relations Labor Board (NLRB ) never had the authority to impose its “successor bar” doctrine, a rule that generally requires a successor employer to continue bargaining with an existing union for up to a year after an acquisition. As one of the first appellate decisions to reject an NLRB doctrine since the U.S. Supreme Court ended automatic…
    Continue Reading NLRB Successor Bar Under Fire: What Employers Buying Unionized Businesses
    Need to Know

    An Illinois Appellate Court ruled in favor of a village and village employees in a lawsuit filed by a firefighter claiming he was injured during a training drill.  Hidalgo v. Village of Romeoville.
    A village firefighter attended an advanced technician
    firefighter training course. As part of that training course curriculum, participants were required to perform a “bailout
    drill.” During a bailout drill, participants exit out a third-story
    window of a hose tower, one leg at a time, and then use rappel line to descend
    down the side of the tower. Participants could use a Class 1 harness, Class 3
    pre-sewn…
    Continue Reading Village Immune From Liability For Firefighter’s Injuries During Training Drill

    Potholes, debris, and other obstructions can do a lot of damage not just to vehicles, but to people. If you were injured in an accident caused by a pothole or other road condition, you may have a legal claim against whoever is responsible for the road.
    Claims against a government body have different rules than an ordinary car accident claim, and you generally have less time to file a lawsuit. Because of this, it is a good idea to talk to a lawyer quickly if you think a city or another local government was responsible for your accident in…
    Continue Reading Is the City Liable if I Wreck My Car Because of Bad Road Conditions?

    You paid your Illinois driver’s license reinstatement fee. Maybe you even received confirmation that the payment was processed. But when you check your driving status or visit an Illinois Secretary of State facility, you discover that your license is still suspended or revoked.

    Why?

    One of the most common misconceptions about an Illinois driver’s license suspension is that paying the reinstatement fee automatically restores your driving privileges. In many cases, paying the fee is only one of several requirements that must be satisfied before you can legally drive again.

    If your Illinois driver’s license remains suspended after you paid…
    Continue Reading Why Is My Illinois Driver’s License Still Suspended After I Paid the Reinstatement Fee?

    The intersection of federal privacy law, parental rights, and student gender identity has become one of the most actively litigated areas of education law. For example, on January 28, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education’s Student Privacy Policy Office (SPPO) found that the California Department of Education (CDE) violated the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)—a federal statute granting parents the right to access their children’s education records—by maintaining policies that pressure school officials to conceal students’ gender transitions from their parents. That enforcement action has unfolded alongside significant Supreme Court rulings in Mirabelli v. Bonta and Mahmoud v. …
    Continue Reading School Districts on Notice: Federal Enforcement of Parental Rights Expands Beyond FERPA

    The federal employer credit for paid family and medical leave was scheduled to expire after 2025. Congress instead made the credit permanent and substantially changed how employers may calculate it. For taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025, an eligible employer may continue to calculate the credit based on wages paid to employees while they are on qualifying leave, or elect a new method based on premiums paid for qualifying paid-family-and-medical-leave insurance.

    Treasury and the IRS addressed the new premium method in Notice 2026-28, 2026-34 I.R.B. 177. The guidance provides employers with rules they may rely upon while Treasury…
    Continue Reading IRS Notice 2026-28: New Guidance on Calculating the Paid Family and Medical Leave Credit

    This was also published in Yahoo Finance here. The original Moneywise.com article is here.
     

    The post I’m Quoted in Moneywise/Yahoo Article: “Poorly Exercised Judgment:” AI Startup Cofounder Apologizes appeared first on Charles A. Krugel.
    Continue Reading I’m Quoted in Moneywise/Yahoo Article: “Poorly Exercised Judgment:” AI Startup Cofounder Apologizes

    Divorce changes your family, but it does not have to weaken your relationship with your child. Many parents worry about keeping that bond strong after a marriage ends. Illinois law puts the child’s best interests first when deciding on parenting time and responsibilities. How you talk to your child, work with the other parent, and follow court orders can affect both your family and your divorce case. We encourage you to look past the current conflict and make choices that protect your long-term role in your child’s life.
    Understanding Parental Responsibilities Under Illinois Law
    Illinois law no longer relies primarily…
    Continue Reading Protecting Your Relationship With Your Child During Divorce

    Accident News | Chicago

    A crash involving a CTA bus left seven people injured, including one person who was seriously hurt, Monday morning in Chicago’s West Garfield Park neighborhood. According to Chicago Fire Department officials, the collision happened around 10:45 a.m. near the intersection of South Kostner Avenue and West Congress Parkway, close to Interstate 290.

    Video from the scene showed a black sedan with significant damage to its front end. Emergency crews transported all seven injured people to area hospitals for treatment. Officials said two victims were in good condition, four were listed in fair-to-serious condition, and one person…
    Continue Reading 7 Injured, 1 Seriously, in West Garfield Park Crash involving CTA Bus

    Farm Lease Disputes in Illinois: When Mediation Can Help Landowners and Farmers Avoid Litigation is an increasingly important question when a disagreement threatens a working relationship, a farming operation, or plans for the next crop year. A farm lease is more than an agreement about acreage and rent. It can affect planting decisions, input purchases, improvements, financing, access to land, and relationships that may have existed between families for generations. When a disagreement develops, mediation may offer Illinois farmers and landowners a practical way to resolve the conflict before it turns into costly litigation.
    Farm lease disputes can become particularly…
    Continue Reading Farm Lease Disputes in Illinois: When Mediation Can Help Landowners and Farmers Avoid Litigation

    Divorce Mediation for Farm Families in Illinois: Can You Protect the Farm Without Going to Court? For many farm families, that question carries far more weight than a typical property-division dispute. A farm may be a family’s home, livelihood, business, retirement plan, and legacy all at once. When a marriage ends, decisions about farmland, equipment, livestock, operating entities, debt, and future income can affect not only the divorcing spouses but also children, parents, siblings, employees, landlords, lenders, and the next generation.
    Litigation is sometimes necessary. But when both spouses can participate meaningfully in negotiations, mediation may offer another way to…
    Continue Reading Divorce Mediation for Farm Families in Illinois: Can You Protect the Farm Without Going to Court?