When a marriage is ending, you might see changes in how money is handled before anyone files for divorce. You could notice strange transfers, missing statements, unexplained withdrawals, or money moving between accounts you did not know about. A single odd transaction does not always mean your spouse is hiding assets, but a pattern is worth looking into. 
Illinois divorce law requires the court to find, classify, value, and divide marital property, and moving money does not take it out of this process. If you think assets are being moved before a divorce in Chicago, we can help you…
Continue Reading Signs Your Spouse May Be Moving Assets Before Filing For Divorce

Perris wanted the cannabis businesses, their economic benefits, and their tax revenue. It just didn’t want the freeway billboards telling people about them. We covered that arrangement, and the temporary restraining order blocking the city’s advertising restrictions, in our earlier post.

But Judge Sunshine Sykes’s subsequent opinion fully granting a preliminary injunction deserves its own attention. Her 22-page decision in Lamar Central Outdoor, LLC v. City of Perris does considerably more than keep the billboards up. It tackles two important questions: whose law should determine whether the advertised activity qualifies as lawful, and what happens to commercial-speech protection …
Continue Reading Judge Sykes Takes On the Fifth Circuit’s Cannabis Advertising Shortcut

July 2026 was an active month for retail patent litigation with continued serial filings against national chains. Frequent filers included Near Field Electronics, Fall Line Patents, and GoTV Networks. For retailers, the month is a reminder that exposure to NPE litigation is not limited to large national chains, small dealers and independent operators are increasingly being swept into mass-filing campaigns, often over patents covering backend technology or product features they neither designed nor control.As usual, I prepared the report in partnership with and using Docket Navigator and its powerful database. Docket Navigator is a valuable resource, and the place to…
Continue Reading JULY 2026 RETAIL PATENT LITIGATION REPORT

A 26-year-old man from Montgomery was killed and another person was seriously injured in a multi-vehicle crash on Interstate 88 in North Aurora early Sunday morning.

According to Illinois State Police, the crash occurred around 4:47 a.m. on the westbound lanes of I-88 near Lincolnway Street, also known as Route 31. The Kane County Coroner’s Office identified the deceased man as Reng Deng.

Deng was driving one of the vehicles involved in the crash. He was taken to Mercy Medical Center in Aurora, where he later died. An autopsy conducted Monday determined that his preliminary cause of death was…
Continue Reading 26-Year-Old Man Killed in I-88 Crash

Suing your own insurance company after an injury is possible in Illinois, but only in certain situations. Your policy is a contract. If your insurer refuses to pay a claim the policy covers, you may be able to hold it to that contract. For some types of coverage, though, a dispute goes to arbitration rather than a courtroom.
Most injury claims after something like a car accident are made against the at-fault driver’s insurer, not your own. Your own policy comes into play in specific cases, such as when the other driver has little or no insurance. Health and other…
Continue Reading Can You Sue Your Own Insurance Company After a Personal Injury?

A manager at a senior living facility contacted Ankin Law when her employer would not treat her fairly after she was struck by a resident with a walker. She was introduced to Scott Goldstein and he worked closely with the injured manager to get her the favorable workers’ compensation she deserved.

The case went to arbitration and Scott was able to prevail on the arbitrator to award her:

  • Temporary Total Disability benefits of $373.33/week for 86 weeks
  • Her employer, Sunrise Senior Living will pay all reasonable and necessary medical services rendered in the amount of $147,984.38
  • Sunrise Senior Living will

    • …
    Continue Reading Senior Living Manager Struck with Walker Wins TTD and Medical Benefits

    If you have already found a buyer for your Illinois home, the next step is usually to put the agreement into a written real estate contract.
    After that, the transaction may involve attorney review, earnest money, inspections, required seller disclosures, title work, tax prorations, closing documents, and the closing itself.
    Finding the buyer is a major step. But there is still quite a bit that has to happen before the sale is complete.
    After a buyer is found, the written real estate contract sets out the terms that will govern the transaction.
    1. Put the Agreement in Writing
    A buyer…
    Continue Reading I Found a Buyer for My House. What Happens Next?

    November 3 is election day and as they say down here, it is fixin/goin to be a wild one. Regardless of your views, get out and vote. I have long believed that voting is the first duty of every American citizen.In keeping with that spirit, this week’s blog entry deals with the question of whether California allows meaningful access to voting with respect to those who have what the court called print disabilities. The case of the day is California Council of the Blind v. Weber, here, decided by the United States District Court for the Northern District of California…
    Continue Reading Persons with Disabilities Have a Right to Vote Privately and Independently

    The Cook County Assessor and the Cook County Board of Review have agreed to a unified methodology of calculating tax rates and tax loads for properties which are being reassessed in 2026.  For the past seven years under two terms of Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi, the Cook County Assessor’s Office refused to implement tax […]
    Continue Reading Cook County Assessor and Cook County Board of Review agree to a new tax load calculation

    Forensic Accountants are necessary in an Illinois divorce when your spouse controls the money and won’t adequately provide documents verifying their income and assets. This scenario is most common when a spouse owns a business, uses cash, or whose financial documents don’t reconcile with each other. What Is A Forensic Accountant In An Illinois Divorce?  Divorce is replete with buzzwords like forensic, commingling and dissipation. Gaining a new vocabulary is the last thing you want to do while facing a divorce. Luckily, breaking down these buzzwords is as simple as opening a legal dictionary and discovering that “forensic” is just…
    Continue Reading When Do You Need A Forensic Accountant In An Illinois Divorce?

    A trademark registration does not come with an eraser for the other words in somebody else’s brand.

    Sutter Home Winery’s BANDIT mark stood in the way of Roar Spirits’ applications to register EL BANDIDO YANKEE and EL BANDIDO YANKEE TEQUILA COMPANY BLANCO. The opposition succeeded before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. Roar sought review in federal district court and lost again. Then it appealed.

    On October 29, the Ninth Circuit reversed in Roar Spirits, LLC v. Sutter Home Winery, Inc., No. 25-2301 (9th Cir. Oct. 29, 2026). Its central observation deserves attention from beverage brands facing…
    Continue Reading El Bandido Yankee Fights Back: Ninth Circuit Reverses Sutter Home’s Trademark Win

    Natsoft Corporation and Updraft, LLC v. Hexaware Technologies Limited, et al.., No. 25 CV 11517, (N.D. Ill. June 9, 2026) (Shah, J.).Judge Shah granted defendant Hexaware’s Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss, holding all nine asserted patents ineligible under 35 U.S.C. § 101 and the Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International framework, in this action brought by Natsoft and Updraft, affiliated companies that together developed tools for automated extraction of software “business rules,” automated testing, and automated modernization of legacy software (at a claimed cost exceeding $100 million over five to six years of development). Hexaware competes…
    Continue Reading Software Modernization Patents Held Ineligible Under Section 101 as “Do It on a Computer” Abstract Ideas

    Accident News | Chicago

    Eight people were hospitalized after a three-vehicle crash in Chicago’s Back of the Yards neighborhood early Sunday morning, according to Chicago police.

    The crash happened shortly after midnight in the 5400 block of South Ashland Avenue. Police said a Dodge SUV was traveling northbound when its driver allegedly ran a traffic signal and collided with a Chevy truck and a Ford sedan.

    Six people inside the Dodge SUV were taken to area hospitals in fair condition. Two occupants of the Chevy truck were also hospitalized and listed in serious condition. The driver of the Ford sedan…
    Continue Reading 8 Hurt in Back of the Yards Crash in Chicago

    On October 27, 2026, the Supreme Court refused to stay the judgment that erased administrative closure from the immigration regulations. The order in City of Baltimore v. Texas, No. 26A500, runs a single sentence. It gives no reasons and records … Continue reading →
    Continue Reading The Supreme Court Lets the Texas Consent Judgment Stand, and Immigration Judges Lose Administrative Closure

    Serious questions regarding campus safety have arisen after two reports of sexual assaults at frat parties raised uncertainty about whether fraternity organizations are doing enough to protect people attending their parties and events. These two recent allegations involve separate instances at the University of Chicago’s Alpha Epsilon Pi and Alpha Delta Phi fraternities. Neither victim was a student of the university.

    Liability for sexual assault within fraternity walls may not always lie strictly with the attacker. It can also extend to fraternity leaders, property owners, or other parties who knew or should have known about the dangerous conditions that could…
    Continue Reading University of Chicago Sexual Assault Allegations Raise Questions About Fraternity Safety and Liability

    You were driving home from work down a busy two-lane road.  As you approached an intersection, a car pulled out in front of you and you collided.  Although the other person was at fault and you were driving the speed limit, you still got a ticket.
    Why did that happen?
    Under Illinois law, apart from minding the speed limit, you must still drive at a speed that is “reasonable and proper with regard to traffic conditions,” and doesn’t endanger another’s safety.  Even if you are within the speed limit, you must still decrease your speed at an intersection, going around…
    Continue Reading WHAT IS FAILURE TO REDUCE SPEED TO AVOID AN ACCIDENT?