Tressler LLP

Tressler LLP is a national law firm headquartered in Chicago, with eight offices located in five states - California, Illinois, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. Tressler is comprised primarily of attorneys who devote their practice to the representation of the insurance industry in coverage analysis and resolution, litigation, underwriting consultation, product development, defense, claims management and reinsurance.

Tressler attorneys also represent clients in commercial litigation, employment, corporate transactions and intellectual property law. Tressler has one of the most experienced and multi-faceted government law practices in Illinois.

Website: https://www.tresslerllp.com
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In City of Danville v. C.A. Collins Enterprises, the Fifth District Appellate Court recently reversed the Circuit Court of Vermilion County’s issuance of a deed to the City of Danville, finding that the circuit court improperly interpreted section 11-31-1(d) of the Illinois Municipal Code. This section provides an expedited process for courts to issue judicial deeds to municipalities for abandoned properties. For a property to be declared abandoned under the section, it must meet the following conditions:

1) the property has been tax delinquent for two or more years or bills for water service have been outstanding for two or…
Continue Reading Fifth District Appellate Court Reverses Circuit Court’s Decision Regarding Abandonment of Historic Danville Tower

In Ory v. City of Naperville, 2023 IL App (3d) 220105, the court provided further insight into the requirements of actual or constructive notice in a premises liability case. In Ory, the plaintiff brought claims sounding in negligence and premises liability against the City of Naperville (the “City”) following a slip and fall on an alleged defective public sidewalk. The plaintiff alleged that the City was negligent in failing to correct a height differential in the sidewalk as it had either actual or constructive notice of the height differential. The City moved for summary judgment arguing that it had…
Continue Reading Plaintiff’s Failure to Show Actual or Constructive Notice Defeats a Premises Liability Case

By Adriana Bosco and Katerina Tsoukalas-Heitkemper

Landlords are responsible for providing a safe, clean and healthy living environment for tenants. Thus, there are certain disclosure obligations landlords must abide by to their current and potential new tenants regarding environmental toxins and other dangerous conditions.

Landlords must comply with federally mandated lead disclosures. In 1992, the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act, commonly known as Title X, was passed. This federal law aims to reduce the number of lead poisoning victims in the United States and is enforced by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA enforces regulations related to Title…
Continue Reading To Disclose or Not to Disclose? Landlord Disclosure Obligations

Over the next few weeks, many Homeowner Associations will begin to reopen their swimming pools. Prior to opening the Association’s pool, it is important for the Board to review the Association’s Rules and Regulations to make sure that they adequately protect the Association from any potential liability. More specifically, the Board should review the Rules and Regulations to confirm that they do not create restrictions to certain protected classes regarding the use of the pool, as this could be a violation of the Illinois Human Rights Act and the Federal Fair Housing Act.

In Illinois, it is a civil rights violation…
Continue Reading No More Adult Swim? Are Your Association Pool Rules Compliant with the Law?

The Seventh Circuit ruled in favor of the school district and found that a high school teacher did not have the right to ignore the school’s transgender name and pronoun policy because of his religious beliefs. Kluge v. Brownsburg Community School Corp., No. 21-2475 (April 7, 2023) S.D. Ind., Indianapolis Div.

In 2017, Brownsburg Community School Corporation (“School”) implemented a new policy to use transgender students’ chosen names and pronouns. John Kluge, a music teacher at the School, refused to abide by the new policy, claiming it violated his religious beliefs. Teachers were instructed to call all students by…
Continue Reading Seventh Circuit Upholds Discharge of Teacher Over Transgender Name Policy

By Adriana Bosco and Matthew O’Malley

Community associations operate through Boards of Directors (the “Board”). Such Boards are tasked with certain duties and responsibilities that they must perform to ensure the success of the community. When dealing with bullies, carrying out these responsibilities and achieving their goals becomes exceptionally difficult. According to the American Psychological Association, bullies act in manners that include “aggressive behavior” and “intentionally and repeatedly caus[ing] another person injury or discomfort.”  Bullying can take the form of physical contact, words or subtle aggressions. Bullying, American Psychological Association, (March 2, 2023, 2:43 PM) www.apa.org/topics/bullying. In order to not…
Continue Reading How to Handle the Proverbial Association Bully

Here is a brief update on the proposed Tax Increment Financing (TIF) legislation and economic development legislation. The primary TIF Legislation proposed is the Senate Committee Amendment 2 to SB 1391 (Sen. Gillespie, D-Arlington Heights). This legislation includes a number of proposed changes that would be harmful to TIF, including, among many other things, an expansion of the purview of the Joint Review Board (JRB) of TIF districts, granting the JRB veto-like powers over the creation and extension of TIF districts. The good news is that SB 1391 was not heard in committee and thus, should not advance. However, there are…
Continue Reading Update on Proposed TIF and Economic Development Legislation

110 Larkin LLC et al. v. Weber, 2023 IL App (3d) 210606 arose from a tax rate objection in which the Plaintiffs alleged that the Woodridge Park District (WPD) imposed an unlawful levy in 2017 that resulted in an illegal excess accumulation in its corporate sub-fund. The Plaintiffs asserted that WPD levied $3,910,740 for “corporate purposes” in 2017. The Plaintiffs contended that this 2017 levy resulted in WPD’s “corporate sub-fund” containing 3.5 times the average annual expenditure of that specific fund.  Excess accumulation claims are analyzed by adding the fund’s balance at the beginning of the fiscal year and the…
Continue Reading Appellate Court Finds in Favor of Park District on Tax Objection by Reviewing General Fund Accumulations Rather than Corporate Sub-Fund

On March 14, 2023, the Illinois Public Access Counselor’s (PAC) Office issued a binding PAC opinion finding a public body in violation of the Illinois Open Meetings Act (OMA) by holding an improper private meeting. A copy of the PAC Opinion 23-003 can be found here. 

A Library Board Trustee submitted a Request for Review to the Public Access Bureau. The Board Trustee alleged that the Library Board had violated OMA when it held a “Meet and Greet” with Trustees and staff members. The Meet and Greet was attended by three members of the seven-member Board. The Board denied that…
Continue Reading New Binding PAC Opinion Finds a “Meet and Greet” to be a Meeting Subject to the Open Meetings Act 

Sometimes Freedom of Information Act requests are vague and so government entities are left seeking clarification from the requester. The best practice for government agencies is a follow-up discussion with a requester, resulting in simplification and narrowing of the request which can lead to a requester getting what they want and fewer government resources spent getting them the information. However, sometimes the quest for clarification can be taken by a requester to be gamesmanship, whether actually intended or not.

In Edgar County Watchdogs v. Joliet Township, 2023 IL App (3d) 210520 (February 23, 2023), the plaintiff submitted a Freedom…
Continue Reading Illinois Appellate Court Denied FOIA Attorneys Fees and Civil Penalties Due to “Clarification” Process

We are proud to announce that Tressler local government attorneys John M. O’Driscoll and Darcy L. Proctor have been selected as 2023 Illinois Super Lawyers. Learn more about these accomplished attorneys below. Congratulations to both!

John M. O’DriscollPartner

John O'Driscoll Tressler LLP

John is a partner and Co-Chair of Tressler’s Government Practice Group. His practice includes representing companies and individuals in business disagreements and providing general counsel services to local governmental bodies such as municipalities, school districts and park districts. John handles a wide variety of disputes such as business litigation, breaches of contract, construction issues, employment disputes, property damage, tort liability defense,…
Continue Reading John O’Driscoll and Darcy Proctor Recognized as 2023 Illinois Super Lawyers

The Illinois Supreme Court issued a much-anticipated opinion in Tims v. Black Horse Carriers, Inc., 2023 IL 127801 on February 2, 2023. Tims settles — once and for all — the burning question of which statute of limitations applies to claims advanced under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”). Under the appellate opinion, Tims v. Black Horse Carriers, Inc., 2021 IL App (1st) 200563, BIPA litigants were arguably subject to two putative class periods depending on which BIPA violations were alleged.  But that is now over. All BIPA claims are subject to a five-year statute of limitations. Period. End of Story. Except in…
Continue Reading The Statute of Limitations Debate is Over But That’s Not All Tims Does

We are pleased to invite you to our upcoming virtual Tressler Talk:What the Fed? Understanding Financials in HOA LawThursday, February 16, 20231:00-2:00pm CT WebinarJoin us for this complimentary webinar to learn about association financials, recent changes in the law and the impact on the condominium and common-interest community association industry. Tressler’s experienced Illinois HOA and Condo Law attorneys will be joined by local CIBC banking professionals for this special presentation.

One hour of CAMICB Continuing Education Credit is currently pending. All are welcome. We hope to see you then!

Register Now: https://cvent.me/MzbkqQ

View Event Website: https://cvent.me/80MmnR

Meet Our Speakers:…
Continue Reading Tressler Talks: What the Fed? Understanding Financials in HOA Law

As Election Day creeps closer and candidate signs litter the landscape, a brief reminder regarding legal restrictions on political signage is appropriate:

Electioneering outside the 100-foot campaign-free zone is permitted

“Electioneering” is conduct that urges a vote for or against a party, candidate, or issue or engaging in political discussion within 100 feet of a polling place. 10 ILCS 5/7-41(c), 5/17-29.  Electioneering may take the form of either verbal communication or non-verbal communication – displaying signs, wearing campaign buttons, or distributing campaign literature.

Sections 7-41 and 17-29 identify that the 100-foot zone runs from each entrance to the voting room itself,…
Continue Reading Election Season, Electioneering and Campaign Sign Reminders

By Zachary Greening

In First Mercury Insurance Co. v. First Florida Building Corporation, 20-cv-1929 (M.D. Fla Jan. 3, 2023), the court rejected an insurer’s bid to have evidence considered outside the underlying complaint concerning the claimant’s employment status to determine the duty to defend. This underlying suit involves a personal injury claim where the claimant sustained severe injuries while working at a construction site. The insurer claimed there was no duty to defend or indemnify the insured because the underlying plaintiff was an employee of the insured, meaning the employer liability and workers’ compensation exclusions should apply. After filing a declaratory…
Continue Reading Florida Court Upholds Eight-Corners Rule, Rejecting Exception: Extrinsic Evidence Must Resolve Duty to Defend and Be Undisputed

In 2017, the Illinois General Assembly passed Public Act 100-0200 to update the Illinois Smoke Detector Act. Public Act 100-0200 requires all Illinois single and multi-family homes to have a smoke alarm with a sealed 10-year battery by January 1, 2023. The legislator provided several exceptions to this law—please review to see if your community is exempt. First, any building built after 1988 is not required to have 10-year sealed batteries installed. Second, any dwelling with a wireless integrated alarm system that uses low-power radio frequency communications does not need to install a 10-year sealed battery. Finally, any dwelling with…
Continue Reading Sound the Alarm: New Illinois Law Requires 10-Year Battery Smoke Alarms to Be Installed in Homes