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Our panel of leading appellate attorneys reviews the nine Illinois Supreme Court opinions handed down Thursday, September 22.

Editor’s note: There will be no summary of People v. Kastman. 
Noland v. Mendoza, 2022 IL 127239
By Karen Kies DeGrand of Donohue Brown Mathewson & Smyth LLC

The Illinois Supreme Court found that plaintiffs Michael Noland and James Clayborne, former Illinois state senators who had voted for laws to reduce legislators’ salaries, misled the public; shortly after leaving office, they sued the state comptroller to recover the pay they had agreed should be withheld. The Illinois Supreme Court ruled that…
Continue Reading Quick Takes on Illinois Supreme Court Opinions Issued Thursday, September 22, 2022

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Chief Justice Anne M. Burke and the Illinois Supreme Court announced today an amendment to Supreme Court Rule 711 (Rule 711), which allows law students and recent law school graduates to obtain temporary law licenses to perform legal services, to include federal court work. The amended order is effective immediately.

View the amendment to Illinois Supreme Court Rule 711.

Rule 711 previously allowed licensees to work for certain non-profit and public-sector employers practicing in the Illinois state courts but did not reference federal courts. The amendment to Rule 711 allows for employment at federal government agencies practicing in the…
Continue Reading Supreme Court Amends Rule 711 on Temporary Licensure To Include Federal Court Work

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Our panel of leading appellate attorneys reviews the six Illinois Supreme Court opinions handed down Thursday, May 19.
Prate Roofing and Installations, LLC v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., 2022 IL 127140
By Amelia Buragas, J.D.

At issue in Prate Roofing and Installations, LLC v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., was whether the Department of Insurance (DOI) has the authority to resolve a dispute regarding the amount of premiums due on a workers’ compensation policy. The appellate court in a separate case recently had held that the DOI did not have the authority to resolve such disputes and vacated DOI’s final order…
Continue Reading Quick Takes on Illinois Supreme Court Opinions Issued Thursday, May 19, 2022

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Our panel of leading appellate attorneys reviews the 10 Illinois Supreme Court opinions handed down Thursday, April 21.
Dent v. Constellation NewEnergy, Inc.,  2022 IL 126795
By Michael T. Reagan, Law Offices of Michael T. Reagan

Richard Dent and his company, RLD Resources, Inc. had terminable at will energy supply and marketing contracts with the respondent companies. Attorneys acting for the respondents advised Dent that allegations had been made against him that he had groped a woman guest at a party at the Shedd Aquarium, that on another occasion he had commented graphically on that woman’s anatomy, and that someone…
Continue Reading Quick Takes on Illinois Supreme Court Opinions Issued Thursday, April 21, 2022

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The Illinois Supreme Court issued one opinion on Thursday, April 7.
People v. Moon , 2022 IL 125959
By Kerry J. Bryson, Office of the State Appellate Defender

Omega Moon was charged with one count of domestic battery, alleging that she caused bodily harm to a child by striking the child several times with a belt. Moon opted to proceed to jury trial. Once the jury was selected, the court asked the clerk to swear in the jurors, but the clerk erroneously administered the voir dire oath (swearing that they will truthfully answer voir dire questions) rather than the trial…
Continue Reading Quick Take on Illinois Supreme Court Opinion Issued Thursday, April 7, 2022

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Our panel of leading appellate attorneys reviews the four Illinois Supreme Court opinions handed down Thursday, March 24.
People v. Deroo , 2022 IL 126120
By Kerry J. Bryson, Office of the State Appellate Defender

Ryan DeRoo was charged in Rock Island County with aggravated DUI. At DeRoo’s jury trial, the State introduced the results of a chemical blood test establishing DeRoo’s blood alcohol content. That evidence was admitted pursuant to 625 ILCS 5/11-501.4(a), which allows admission of chemical blood tests conducted in the course of emergency medical treatment “as a business record exception to the hearsay rule.”

Following his…
Continue Reading Quick Takes on Illinois Supreme Court Opinions Issued Thursday, March 24, 2022

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The Illinois Supreme Court issued one opinion on Thursday, February 3.
McDonald v Symphony Bronzeville Park, LLC , 2022 IL 126511
By Michael T. Reagan, Law Offices of Michael T. Reagan

“Do the exclusivity provisions of the Workers’ Compensation Act (Compensation Act) bar a claim for statutory damages under the Biometric Information Privacy Act (Privacy Act)?” In this Rule 308 appeal, the circuit court of Cook County, the First District, and now the Supreme Court all answered that certified question in the negative. Ms. McDonald sued her employer Symphony Bronzeville Park, LLC, in this putative class action, alleging that…
Continue Reading Quick Take on Illinois Supreme Court Opinion Issued Thursday, February 3, 2022

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Our panel of leading appellate attorneys reviews the eight Illinois Supreme Court opinions handed down Friday, January 21.
PNC Bank, National Ass’n v. Kusmierz, 2022 IL 126606
By Joanne R. Driscoll, Forde & O’Meara LLP

In this case, the Illinois Supreme Court held that a petition for relief from a void judgment filed under section 2-1401(f) of the Code of Civil Procedure (Code) (735 ILCS 5/2- 1401(f) (West 2016)) is subject to dismissal based on laches and the bona fide purchaser protections set forth in section 2-1401(e) of the Code (id. § 2- 1401(e)).

Plaintiff, PNC Bank, National Association…
Continue Reading Quick Takes on Illinois Supreme Court Opinions Issued Friday, January 21, 2022

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Chief Justice Anne M. Burke and the Illinois Supreme Court announced today amendments to Supreme Court Rules 281, 552, and 589 and the adoption of new Rule 8. Rule 8 defines case and document confidentiality and is intended to ensure that access to secured information in the court file are the same at all levels of courts. The updates to Rules 281, 552, and 589 are in conjunction with new recordkeeping requirements in the circuit courts pursuant to the Manual on Recordkeeping, effective January 1, 2022.

All rule amendments and new Rule 8 are effective January 1, 2022.

The Illinois…
Continue Reading Illinois Supreme Court Adopts New Rule on Case and Document Confidentiality

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The Illinois Supreme Court announced today an amendment to Order M.R. 30370 concerning residential evictions. Timed to coincide with the resumption of eviction filings effective August 1, 2021, the amended Order provides for a one-month period in which the judiciary will focus on referring newly filed cases to State programs providing financial assistance to landlords and tenants.

In March 2020, Governor J.B. Pritzker declared a State of Emergency in response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and the President of the United States declared the COVID-19 outbreak a national emergency. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) (P.L.
Continue Reading Illinois Supreme Court Announces Triage Period to Wind Down Eviction Moratorium

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The Illinois Supreme Court today issued two new orders which will resume statutory time restrictions for speedy trials on October 1 and relax social distancing requirements in courthouses. Both orders are effective immediately.

“It is important to note that our courts remained open during the COVID-19 pandemic and thousands of court proceedings have taken place via both in-person and virtual hearings,” Chief Justice Anne M. Burke said. “However, conducting criminal jury trials has been very difficult. These two orders will help our courts prepare for a return to a full slate of jury trials.”

M.R. 30370, In re: Illinois Courts…
Continue Reading Illinois Supreme Court Issues Orders on Speedy Trials and Social Distancing

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Our panel of leading appellate attorneys reviews the four Illinois Supreme Court opinions handed down Thursday, June 17. In In re Application of Tax Deed, the court analyzed case-specific facts for purposes of determining whether section 22-85 of the Property Tax Code could be applied to void a tax deed. In Municipal Trust & Savings Bank v. Moriarty, the court construed section 2-202 of the Code of Civil Procedure to determine whether a private process server may serve process on a defendant in Cook County without first being appointed by the circuit court. In Roberts v. Alexandria Transportation, Inc., the…
Continue Reading Quick Takes on Illinois Supreme Court Opinions Issued Thursday, June 17, 2021

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Chief Justice Anne M. Burke and the Illinois Supreme Court announced today amendments to Rule 756 and Rule 751, which will give $10 from the attorney registration fee to the Illinois Lawyers Assistance Program (LAP) and an additional $10 allocation for the Supreme Court Commission on Access to Justice (ATJ Commission) to provide funding for Illinois Court Help.

The amended rules are effective July 1, 2021.

The Illinois Supreme Court Rules including Amended Rules 756 and 751 can be found here.

The $20 reallocation ($10 for LAP, $10 for Illinois Court Help) will not increase attorney registration fees. Instead,…
Continue Reading Supreme Court Reallocates Attorney Registration Fee to Meet Growing Need for Assistance

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Chief Justice Anne M. Burke and the Illinois Supreme Court announced today amendments to Rule 11 and Rule 371 which alter the manner of serving certain legal documents and how a rule on confidential records is applied.

The amendment to Rule 371 is effective immediately. The amendment to Rule 11 is effective July 1, 2021.

The Illinois Supreme Court Rules can be found here: http://www.illinoiscourts.gov/SupremeCourt/Rules/default.asp

Rule 11 is the “Manner of Serving Documents Other Than Process and Complaint on Parties Not in Default in the Trial and Reviewing Courts.” The amendment to Rule 11 now allows email to be used…
Continue Reading Supreme Court Amends Rules on Serving Documents and Confidential Records

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Our panel of leading appellate attorneys reviews the nine Illinois Supreme Court opinions handed down Thursday, May 20. Seven of the cases are civil and two are criminal.

People v. Bochenek

By Kerry J. Bryson, Office of the State Appellate Defender

Dominic Bochenek was convicted of identity theft based on the unauthorized use of another person’s credit card information to purchase cigarettes. The underlying transaction occurred at a gas station in Lake County, but Bochenek was charged in DuPage County under a provision in the venue statute which allows for the charge to be brought in the county where the…
Continue Reading Quick Takes on Illinois Supreme Court Opinions Issued Thursday, May 20, 2021

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The Illinois Supreme Court’s Illinois Judicial Conference (IJC) recently announced the release of a new jury orientation video which will serve as an introduction to jury service for all 24 circuit courts in Illinois.

“Jury service is a hallmark of the American justice system,” said Chief Justice Anne M. Burke, who also serves as Chair of the IJC. “This video serves as an excellent introduction for those called to jury duty and answers many questions they may have to make for a positive experience.”

Jury orientation provides an important first impression of the court for prospective jurors. This orientation video…
Continue Reading Illinois Supreme Court Unveils New Jury Orientation Video