Uninsured motorists. PA 93-485 updates the Illinois Insurance Code by making the following two changes: (1) All automobile policies issued in Illinois must provide uninsured-motorist coverage and disputes about that coverage must be submitted to arbitration. Currently, awards under $20,000 per injured person and $40,000 per occurrence are binding, but awards more than $20,000 are not. This increases the binding arbitration levels from $20,000 to $50,000 per person and from $40,000 to $100,000 per occurrence.
(2) It increases the potential penalty from 25% to 60% of the loss amount at issue and from $25,000 to $60,000 under §5/155 of the Insurance Code for unreasonable and vexatious insurer delay. This bill was originally drafted by Scott A. Blumenshine of Chicago supported by the ISBA Tort and Insurance Law Section Councils. Effective Jan. 1, 2004.
Petrillo amendment. PA 93-492 modifies the statutes affecting the Petrillo issue. It amends the Hospital Licensing Act to provide that after a complaint for healing art malpractice is served upon the hospital or upon its agents or employees, members of the hospital's medical staff who are not actual or alleged agents, employees, or apparent agents of the hospital may not communicate with legal counsel for the hospital or with risk management of the hospital concerning the claim alleged in the complaint against the hospital. There is an exception if the patient consents or discovery is authorized by the Code of Civil Procedure or Supreme Court rules.
Good-faith compliance under the Act shields a person from professional discipline. Effective Jan. 1, 2004 and applies to any actions filed on or after that date.
Medical records. PA 93-87 makes two changes to the law regarding medical and hospital records. It requires that a health care practitioner or health care facility send these records to a patient or the patient's representative within 30 days of receipt of a written request. If the practitioner or facility needs more time to do this, they may take another 30 days to comply if they send the requesting party a written explanation of the delay and the date by which the requested information will be provided. The records must be provided within 60 days.
It also requires that health care practitioner or health care facility provide at least 30 days' notice of the closure of the practice or facility. Effective July 2, 2003.
Editor
Living in a Gray area
If the two handfuls of Democrats who want to be president are referred to as "hopefuls," what does one call the parade of 100-plus pretenders to the throne of California? How many candidates can dance on the shred of a chad?
If Governor Joseph Graham "Gray" Davis, a Bronx-born decorated Vietnam vet, survives his recall ordeal on Oct. 7, the question will be moot. If he loses, the state will have 39 days to tally the sheaves of corollary ballots and certify a successor.
Now only nine months into his second term, Gray shivers in the shadows of an energy crisis and a mega-billion budget deficit that makes Illinois look cheap. Alas for him, the Golden State is one of only 15 that allow recalls, and this is the 32nd time such an effort has been mounted therein.
The fickle trickle of millions of votes into the crannies of so many candidates could result in the smallest plurality in the history of suffrage. One or two percent of the ballots could be enough, although the candidacies of experienced political campaigners Cruz Bustamante or Tom McClintock should appeal to most discerning voters.
Another viable candidate is Peter Ueberroth of Olympian virtue, but then there are the actors, comics, porno purveyors, etc. - Arnie, Gary, Ari, Larry, Mary Carey and a watermelon smasher (Gallagher has only one name, but it's Gaelic).
Gray Davis must feel like a raisin trapped in a fruitcake. Californians should cut him some slack. He's a nominee for canonization, compared with an elected public official who made recent headlines in Alabama, but that's another story.
Democrat Davis calls all this a right-wing Republican conspiracy to confiscate a constitutional office that he won, fair and square. Suspect fingerprints are all over the manner in which this recall has been engineered and bankrolled.
Legally, recall is a right of the electorate in some states, but at what cost? The estimated tab this time around is upwards of $60 million. Responsibilities usually accompany rights, but this exercise in civics smacks of irresponsibility.
It couldn't happen here, or in Alabama
The coveted granite graven image that which warns litigants not to bear false witness has been rolled away from its spotlight in the Arkansas judicial building rotunda and retired to a less conspicuous sanctuary.
Speak not ill of Chief Justice Roy Moore as a God-fearing man of conviction who might like be the protector of scripture that Isaiah foresaw "as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land."
Chiseling the Ten Commandments atop 31 cubic feet of stone, and cloaking the 2.6-ton monolith into that hallowed hall by moonlight, showed artful devotion that Moses would have appreciated.
But shame on Moore as an icon of the Alabama judiciary, a political upstart who took in vain the name of judicial independence by interpreting the law for his own devices and thumbing his nose at the federal court as though it were inferior.
Even if recall were an option in Alabama, the popular Moore is as unlikely to be unseated as a somnolent gorilla. Jurists are exempt in six of the 15 states that have adopted recall, but not in Wisconsin. A Madison judge was bounced in 1977 for empathizing with a youthful rapist.
By playing to the prayerful that thronged to Montgomery, Moore may have proven the wisdom of keeping religion out of state institutions. If the granite Decalogue were not a religious icon, why would the faithful prostrate themselves before it and hold prayer vigils in its environs?
Could it have been Moore's intent to incorporate the Ten Commandments into the rule of law in Alabama? Think about it, good people. Among prohibitions in God's law that require a higher standard than contemporary secular statutes are the sins of covetousness, adultery, dishonoring one's parents and frolicking on the Sabbath.
The legal system in Alabama still works. Moore was discredited by his eight colleagues, who ordered the monument removed. The state's Judicial Inquiry Commission has suspended him, pending an investigation.
In his spare time, Moore should read "To Kill a Mockingbird." There is a poignant moment in this novel by Alabama native Harper Lee that best describes the importance of the rule of law to many who have had only scant dreams of justice.
It's when the quiet people in the balcony at the back of the courtroom stand in respect for the beleaguered lawyer, Atticus Finch.
Justice in Alabama has come a long way since the days when law was a convenience for the powerful, when Montgomery and Birmingham and Selma were profaned. The state did not deserve the headlines that Roy Moore's misguided antics have wrought.
Colleagues choose Justice Greiman
Appellate Justice Alan J. Grieman is chairing the 1st District Executive Committee for the seventh straight year after his colleagues re-elected him last month. A Cook County judge since 1987, he was assigned to the Appellate Court in 1991.
Justice Thomas E. Hoffman has been re-elected vice chair of the executive committee. Other members are Justices Robert Cahill, Sheila M. O'Brien, James F. Smith and Margaret Stanton McBride.
Retirements announced
Associate Judge Robert J. Hillebrand of the 20th Circuit in Belleville will retire Oct. 31 after 14 years on the bench. He has been handling a felony criminal docket while Judge James Donovan serves in federal court in Mt. Vernon.
Cook County Circuit Court Judges Daniel J. Lynch and Patrick S. Grossi, both of the 5th Municipal District, retired in July. Six associate judges also are retiring.
They are Charles M. May of the Juvenile Justice Division, William S. Wood of the Criminal Division, Jerome M. Orbach of the 2nd District, Charles E. Porcellino of the 3rd District, Donna L. Cervini of the 4th District and Joseph M. Macellaio of the 6th District.
Federal seat opens
Judge John L. Coffey of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Milwaukee expects to take senior status when a successor is selected from four Wisconsin nominees whose names have been sent to the White House.
They are jurists J. P. Stadtmueller of U.S. District Court, David G. Deininger of the state court of appeals and Diane S. Syke of the state supreme court, and Milwaukee attorney Thomas L. Shriner Jr. of Foley & Lardner.
Prosecutor appointed
Mary Galus has been selected from the list of a dozen applicants to replace Amy Kaiser as assistant Pike County state's attorney. A former Texas prosecutor, Galus worked for the Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation in East St. Louis while she was waiting to be admitted in Illinois.
She was a county attorney in Austin, Texas, and a district attorney in Fort Worth before opening a private practice in criminal defense and family law. She also was a night magistrate, setting bail for individuals under arrest.
How will homeland security affect federal labor relations?
The Chicago-Kent College of Law will conduct its 21st annual Federal Sector Labor Relations and Labor Law Program from 8:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 18. The theme is "Homeland Security: A Peek at the Future of Federal Labor Relations."
Speakers include Frank D. Ferris, executive vice president of the National Treasury Employees Union; Prof. Marick F. Masters of the University of Pittsburgh Center on Conflict Resolution and Negotiation, and Ronald P. Sanders, associate director for strategic human resources at the U.S. Office of personnel Management.
Keynote luncheon speaker Susanne T. Marshall, chair of the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, will discuss "MSPB: Past, Present and Future." Concurrent workshops will take place during the morning and afternoon.
A reception will follow the conference. Call (312) 905-5090 for registration details.
Family mediation
"Tools and Skills for Peacemaking and Family Mediation," a Mediation Council of Illinois conference, will be conducted Saturday, Sept. 20, in the Trustmark Office Building in Lake Forest.
The keynote speech, "Impact of Mediation on the Illinois Courts," will be given by Supreme Court Justice Rita B. Garman. She will receive the council's Exceptional Service to Family Mediation Award from Presiding Judge Susan T. O'Leary of the 12th Circuit Family Law Division.
The conference will open at 8:30 a.m. with welcoming remarks from President Danuta McDaniel. Concurrent workshops will follow during the morning and afternoon programs.
For registration details, call Ruth Ann Johnson-Shimp at (312) 641-3000 or access the web site, www.mediationcouncilofillinois.org.
Guardians ad litem
A seminar at 12:15 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 23, for pro bono attorneys of the Chicago Volunteer Legal Services Foundation will cover adult guardian ad litem practice in the Cook County Probate Division. The speaker is Jean Adams.
On Wednesday, Oct. 29, a CVLS seminar on tort defense will be given by Tiffany Tracy.
Elderly and disabled
Guaranty Trust Co., a subsidiary of Attorneys' Title Guaranty Fund, will conduct three free seminars titled "Bridging the Gap: What Estate Planning Attorneys Should Know About Clients' Health Care, Social and Financial Issues."
They will take place from 9 a.m. to 12 noon Tuesday, Sept. 23, at the Holiday Inn, Rolling Meadows; Thursday, Sept. 26, at Hawthorn Suites, Champaign, and Thursday, Oct. 9, at Hamburger University, Oak Brook.
The speaker is Shay Jacobson, founder of Health Care Innovations Inc. and Surrogate Guardian Services Inc. Call (800) 252-5206, ext. 130, for reservations.
Workers' Compensation
The Workers' Compensation Lawyers Association will hold its 2003 Medical Seminar from 9 a.m. to 12:25 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26, at Maggiano's Restaurant, Chicago. Call moderator Karen Talty, (312) 645-0606, to register.
After introductions by WCLA President Steven T. Grady, medical professionals will discuss care of injuries to the shoulder, lumbar spine, wrist and hand, and testing for post traumatic stress disorder.
Marbury v. Madison
A two-part symposium on "Marbury v. Madison and Judicial Review: Legitimacy, Tyranny and Democracy" will be presented from 1 to 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 3, at The John Marshall Law School as the Braun Endowed Lecture.
The historical perspective on the case will be given by Prof. Samuel Olken of John Marshall and Professors William E. Nelson and Larry D. Kramer of the New York University School of Law.
Reflections on judicial review will be provided by John Marshall Law Prof. Walter J. Kendall III and Professors Mark V. Tushnet and Louis Michael Seidman of the Georgetown University Law Center.
The program is free, but reservations should be made in advance by calling (312) 987-1420, ext. 578, or sending an e-mail to events@jmls.edu.
John Marshall's Center for Intellectual Property Law will conduct an advanced Patent Cooperation Treaty seminar for patent administrators on Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 3-4.
Judge Paul R. Michel will teach a master class on effective oral advocacy in intellectual property cases at the center on Thursday and Friday, Nov. 6-7. Call Michelle Bridges, (312) 427-2737, ext. 581.
DuPage County Bar
The DuPage County Bar Association will open its fall CLE series with a criminal law luncheon seminar, "From Coke to Beef," at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 9, at the bar center classroom in Wheaton. Call (630) 653-7779 for a schedule.
Speakers include Mary Robinson, administrator of the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission; Karen Notko of TASC, attorney George Lynch, and Jim Utley and Ona Welch of the Illinois Department of Corrections.