Adjudicator’s Field Manual — Working Reference Law Offices of Michael D. Baker Adjudicator’s Field Manual Working reference · 163 sections · 30 chapters Live Superseded Reserved ⚖ Caselaw Introductory — Overview & General Interest Ch. 1  Organization and Content of the Adjudicator’s Field Manual … Continue reading →
Continue Reading The Adjudicator’s Field Manual, Made Usable: A Searchable Reference with Live USCIS Status and Caselaw

Your home, rental property, vacation house, or even a piece of vacant land represents more than bricks and acreage. The way you legally own that property affects your control during life, your protection from creditors, and how easily the property can pass to loved ones in the future.

At Rincker Law, we help individuals and families choose the right ownership structure so their property is protected today—and positioned to transfer smoothly tomorrow.

Understanding Your Primary Residence
Your home is often your largest asset. How it is titled affects:

  • Your authority to sell or borrow against it
  • Whether creditors can reach

…
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Synopsis: Legislative Alert!!!Illinois Lawmakers Fiddle with the IL Workers’ Compensation Act. IL WC Medical Defenses Now More Perilous for Illinois Employers. Thoughts and Research by John P. Campbell and Eugene F. KeefeThe Illinois General Assembly recently passed House Bill 5228, introducing significant changes to the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act. These revisions will greatly impact how employers, claims professionals, and attorneys on both sides manage and defend claims in this state, as explained below. This will not become law unless and until the Governor signs it—he has 60 days to do so. Editor’s Comment: Every five or six years we see some tinkering to our IL Workers’…
Continue Reading June 2026; New Legislative Changes to IL WC Act Arrive; New Odd Strategy Claimant Attorneys May be Trying to Rein in IME sites and more

Chicago’s expressways are some of the busiest roadways in the Midwest. Every day, thousands of commuters, commercial trucks, rideshare vehicles, and visitors travel on major highways such as the Dan Ryan Expressway and Interstate 90. While these roads are designed to move large amounts of traffic efficiently, they are also the site of many serious accidents each year.

If you were injured in a crash on the Dan Ryan, I-90, or another Chicago-area expressway, you may be entitled to compensation for your medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, and other damages. The steps you take after an accident…
Continue Reading Chicago Expressway Accidents: Navigating Danger on the Dan Ryan and I-90

Requests for Admission require the opposing party to admit whether certain facts are true, eliminating the need to prove those facts at trial. Under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 216, these Requests can be efficient tools to narrow the issues in dispute before trial. However, as the recipient of the request, you must take great care to comply with the 28-day response deadline. Missing that deadline can have serious consequences. If you fail to meet the deadline, the requests may be deemed admitted and used against you at trial. This result can be devastating to your case. However, relief may still…
Continue Reading So, Requests for Admission Served on You are Deemed Admitted. Now What?

Resolving child custody issues in Illinois without litigation can help parents reduce stress, save time, and create a parenting arrangement that works better for their children. While many parents think a judge must decide every custody dispute, Illinois families often have options to resolve parenting disagreements through negotiation, mediation, collaborative law, and carefully drafted parenting plans.
That said, “without going to court” does not always mean there will be no court involvement at all. If there is an Illinois court case involving the allocation of parental responsibilities, any agreement usually still needs to be filed with the court and approved…
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Resolving agribusiness partner disputes through mediation can help farm families, agricultural business owners, and rural entrepreneurs protect their business interests while preserving important relationships. When a dispute arises between business partners, co-owners, shareholders, LLC members, family members, or farm successors, the conflict can quickly affect daily operations, finances, land use, employees, vendors, and the future of the agricultural enterprise.
In agriculture, disputes are rarely about one issue. They often involve family history, land ownership, debt, labor, equipment, succession expectations, and different visions for the future. For many Illinois agribusinesses, mediation offers a practical and private way to resolve disputes without…
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For more than three decades, the federal government maintained a policy restricting immigration enforcement operations at or near schools and other “sensitive locations.” That longstanding protection ended abruptly in January 2025, when the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rescinded its sensitive locations policy and replaced it with guidance leaving enforcement decisions to the discretion of individual Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The policy shift has led to increased immigration enforcement activity at or near schools nationwide, prompting legal challenges from school districts concerned about disruptions to their educational mission.On February 4, 2026, two Minnesota school districts (Fridley Public Schools and…
Continue Reading Federal Immigration Enforcement at Schools: Legal Challenges to DHS’s Revocation of Sensitive Locations Policy

Erika Harold and Shermin Kruse at the 2026 Future Is Now conference
Key Points

  • Empathy is more than feeling—it can involve thinking about and understanding others’ thoughts and emotions
  • Lawyers can better serve clients and support colleagues by knowing when to exercise different types of empathy, including emotional, cognitive, and stoic empathy
  • Different practice and workplace situations will call for lawyers to balance both emotional awareness and analytical thought
  • In an increasingly AI-driven world, lawyers can use empathy to distinguish themselves and enhance their relationships

When you hear the word empathy, does feeling or thinking come to mind?
If you…
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In Crane v. City of Rockford, an Illinois Appellate Court upheld the dismissal of an appeal of an administrative hearing officer’s issuance of fines for building code violations where the property owner did not comply with the service requirements of state law.A municipal administrative hearing officer found a property owner in violation of various building code provisions and assessed a fine of $64,000. The property owner filed an appeal with the circuit court within the statutory 35 day period but failed to properly serve the City and other defendants as required by section 3-103 of the Administrative Review Law.
Continue Reading Case Was Properly Dismissed Where Appeal Not Served on City

When people are injured in an accident, one of the biggest concerns they have is whether their lawyer will truly be there for them throughout the legal process. Personal injury claims can take months or even years to resolve, and clients often worry about being left in the dark while important decisions are made about their case. According to a recent review from client Dany Berni, that was never a concern when working with Michael Phillips and Phillips Law Offices. Consistent communication, transparency, legal knowledge, and genuine care helped create an experience that left a lasting impression. Reviews like…
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Accident News | Chicago, Il

A security guard was injured and transported to the hospital following a two-vehicle crash at a busy downtown Chicago intersection early Wednesday morning. According to Chicago police, the collision occurred around 3:31 a.m. near the intersection of State Street and Ida B. Wells Drive.

Authorities said a Ford sport-utility vehicle operated by a Chicago Transit Authority K-9 security unit was traveling northbound on State Street when it collided with a Cadillac SUV heading westbound on Ida B. Wells Drive. Preliminary reports indicate the Cadillac driver allegedly ran a red light before the crash occurred.

Following…
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Many divorcees prioritize owning their marital home as part of their divorce agreement. There are advantages beyond an emotional attachment to your house. You may have invested money into making the home that you want. Finding a new home will take time and be costly. There is stability in continuing to live in the same home for yourself and your children. However, it can be expensive to keep your house in your divorce agreement. Your spouse is a co-owner of the house, and you will need to buy them out in order to be the sole owner.
At Calabrese Associates,…
Continue Reading What It Costs to Keep Your Marital Home During Divorce

Even in the best of circumstances, divorce can be a massive undertaking. What happens, though, when you feel like you are dealing with the worst of circumstances? How do you handle a spouse who refuses to compromise during negotiations? What recourse do you have if you suspect asset hiding or depreciation during your divorce?
Some parties choose to take such complex matters to litigation, but it is not the best option for everyone. Regardless of the path you choose, a seasoned and competent Wheaton, IL divorce attorney can help protect your interests. As a former Assistant State’s Attorney, Dion U.
Continue Reading Should You Take Your High-Asset Divorce to Litigation?

An out-of-service violation can put a CDL career at serious risk in Illinois, especially if it results in a lengthy disqualification or is not handled properly. If you are facing one of these violations in 2026, you already know how serious this feels. Your job, your income, and everything you have built could be at risk. Just one violation can keep you off the road for months. Multiple violations can cost you your CDL for good. A DuPage County CDL defense lawyer can help you understand what you are dealing with and what options you have to protect your career.
Continue Reading Can an Out-of-Service Violation End a CDL Career in Illinois?

According to March 2026 data from the Defense Manpower Data Center, Virginia is home to more than 123,000 active duty service members, ranking second in the country. For the tens of thousands of those service members raising families in Virginia, deployment can put a child custody arrangement under serious strain. If you are a military parent, a deployment can raise hard questions about your custody rights. What happens to your parenting time while you are gone? Can the other parent use your absence to change the agreement for good? 
A Stafford, VA child custody attorney can help you protect…
Continue Reading How Does Child Custody Work When a Military Parent Deploys in Virginia?