procuring favorable government action, result, or outcome. It sets up a motion to dismiss procedure to adjudicate suits alleged to be a SLAPP that requires the court to award the moving party reasonable attorney fees if it is determined that the moving party was exercising the constitutional rights to petition, speak, or participate in government.
Small estate affidavits. Senate Bill 2630 (Winkel, R-Champaign) increases the permissible maximum value of the decedent's personal estate from $50,000 to $100,000 for small estate affidavits.
Open Meetings Act. House Bill 4247 (Black, R-Danville) amends the recent change to the Open Meetings Act that requires that a public body make a verbatim audio or video recording of closed meetings. It will make four changes. (1) Requires the court (now discretionary) to conduct an in camera examination of the verbatim record to determine whether there has been a violation of this Act. (2) Prohibits the inspection of the verbatim record of a closed meeting in a judicial proceeding other than in a judicial proceeding to determine whether the Act has been violated. (3) Requires that the initial examination in a criminal proceeding must be in camera, but other examinations need not be in camera. (4) Removes the authority of an administrative hearing officer to redact information that may qualify under the attorney-client privilege.
New parentage act. House Bill 4742 (Hamos, D-Chicago) creates the Uniform Parentage Act (2000) and repeals the Illinois Parentage Act and the Illinois Parentage Act of 1984.
Mandatory restitution. House Bill 4453 (Rose, R-Mahomet) requires the court to order restitution for damages to a person or property for any conviction of a felony or misdemeanor under the Illinois Vehicle Code.
Mechanics Lien Act. House Bill 4659 (Pankau, R-Roselle) authorizes a mechanics lien for the rental of materials or equipment used in the construction upon or improvement to real property.
"I like to help people with their problems, and that's basically what you do as a lawyer. It's never been about making money for me. Well, enough to live on."
Gail H. Kim, associate at Chicago's Katten, Muchin, Zavis, Rosenbaum, hired to work full time for half pay on loan to a public interest organization in first such pro bono program in the Midwest
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"Brown broke the back of American apartheid. It was a case that finally breathed life into the 14th Amendment for African-Americans."
Theodore Shaw, associate director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, referring to the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education
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"Would it be too cynical to speculate that what may be going on here is that class counsel wanted a settlement that would give them a generous fee and Fleet wanted a settlement that would extinguish 1.4 million claims against it at no cost to itself?"
Judge Richard A. Posner, writing for a three judge panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in throwing out a settlement in a class action suit against Fleet Mortgage Corp.
Herb Gerdeman, rugged and twangy, showed up at a meeting of the Illinois Press Association about 40 years ago. He was not your typical newspaper publisher, nor did his publication appear to be of the usual, slap-dash community press variety.
Herb's newspaper, the Menard Time, was printed with obvious care on heavy, snow-white stock, and it was lush with inks of green, purple and other hues more variegated than basic red or blue.
The content of the Menard Time was produced entirely by residents of the penitentiary by that name near Chester on the banks of the Mississippi across from Kaskaskia, our first state capital.
We asked Herb how he could turn out such a beautifully provocative piece of work in such a controlled, monastic environment. Among its well-crafted features was a column titled "The Finger" that would have impressed a secular gossipmonger like Irv Kupcinet.
"Well..." Herb drawled, "we have a lot of time." Time indeed, and a generous helping of latent talent that was permitted at least the freedom of the printing press at Menard, the second oldest correctional facility in the state.
Under the tutelage of Gerdeman, with shrewd oversight from Warden Ross Randolph, these jailhouse journalists were granted, provisionally, the opportunity to become more literate and to learn the fundamentals of a useful trade.
These recollections seem apropos, now that the bureaucracy has summarily throttled a plan to establish a newspaper at the Stateville Correctional Center in Joliet. It was not a priority in these times of financial stress and security concerns.
Stateville Speaks was to be a quarterly forum for the creative juices and more-or-less constructive opinions of the incarcerated, a surprising 41 of whom submitted essays in a contest last summer.
The publication was to be edited by an inmate who had served time on death row, and the project coordinator was Bill Ryan of the Illinois Coalition Against the Death Penalty. He was working to obtain used equipment and outside funding for the cost of printing. The Tribune's Eric Zorn was slated for a staff workshop on news writing.
"It's far healthier to have inmates interested and working on poetry, essays and book reviews, and discussing relevant issues in the prison environment, than sitting in a cell all day doing nothing," Ryan told Zorn (Chicago Tribune, Jan. 31).
Concurrence was heard from Chip Coldren, president of the watchdog John Howard Association for Prison Reform, recipient of $4,500 last year from the Illinois Bar Foundation and 10 other grants since 1979.
As Zorn quoted Holdren, prison publications can be tension relievers. "The ability to express thoughts, experiences and feelings to others is psychologically healthy," he said.
But corrections officials, who at first had given tentative blessing to the project, fumbled for explanations when Stateville Speaks was deep-sixed. Staff supervision, allocation of limited resources, etc., etc.
What are prisons for, punishment or rehabilitation? A melange of both, perhaps, but don't you feel sometimes like knocking on closed minds to ask whether imagination can come out and play?
Six-and-a-half to one, you lost
The State of Nevada is exuberantly agog over news that an unprecedented $81.2 million was bet on the seven-point spread that favored New England to beat Carolina in the Super Bowl. The meager three-point margin, a mere field goal in the closing seconds, separated many wagerers from their hopes.
In fact, Nevada's 152 legit bookies kept a record $12.4 million - 15 percent of the total handle. A lot of that will help hold the tax rates down for Nevada's schools and other public services, but all $81 million could have been contributed to equally worthy causes.
Why this seems interesting is that gambling addiction has reached sufficient moment to have attracted an array of counseling ventures and in-patient programs, such as Gamblers Anonymous and a National Council on Problem Gambling.
More to the point in the legal community, the Lawyers' Assistance Program recently organized two interventions for concerned colleagues and relatives of lawyers whose wagering losses prey on their personal and professional lives.
This is a new area for LAP, along with depression, mental health issues and borderline suicides. Expanded attention to these is a dividend on that $7 annual fee you pay, and a benefit to clients and the image of the profession.
BULLETIN: Joe Bartylak has set up shop for his new downstate LAP headquarters in Suite 305, 200 W. Third St., Alton 62002. No office phone yet, but his cell number is (618) 791-3160. You can reach him by e-mail at jbartylak@illinoislap.org.
Morton Denlow was appointed Jan. 26 to a two-year term as presiding magistrate judge in U.S. District Court for the Northern District. He succeeded Arlander Keys, who had served since 1998.
Denlow, who serves on the ISBA Bench and Bar Section Council and the Federal Civil Practice Section Council, also has been appointed to his second eight-year term as a magistrate judge, effective March 1.
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Magistrate Judge Gerald B. Cohn of the Southern District said last month that he plans to retire early next year. He is nearing the end of his third eight-year term. Cohn has served on the ISBA Committee on Corrections and Sentencing for several years.
Circuits name heads
Clark E. Erickson of Kankakee is the new chief judge of the 21st Circuit. He succeeded Kendall Wenzelman on Jan. 1. A judge since 1995, Erickson is a former state's attorney.
Thomas J. Difanis of Urbana was named presiding judge of Champaign County Court in the 6th Circuit on Jan. 27. He succeeded J. G. "Greg" Townsend, who had presided for seven years. Difanis, a judge since 1995, was county state's attorney for 19 years.
Townsend retired from the 6th Circuit bench on Jan. 30 after 14 years as a circuit judge and 11 years as an associate judge. He plans to do missionary work with his church.
Comings and goings
Former St. Clair County public defender Andrew Gleeson of Belleville was sworn in Dec. 18 as an associate judge in the 20th Circuit. He is a 1985 graduate of the St. Louis University Law School.
Randall Kelley of Swansea was appointed Jan. 20 to succeed Gleeson as public defender. A criminal defense attorney, he is a 1980 graduate of The John Marshall Law School.
Chief Judge Thomas P. Carmody of the 7th Circuit has announced that he will retire from the bench July 7, rather than seek retention. He was elected in 1990 after a 33-year practice in Carlinville that included two terms as Macoupin County state's attorney.
Carmody's retirement signals the end of a century of 7th Circuit judges from Macoupin County. Two candidates who have filed for the election in November are Republican Charles Colburn from Morgan County and Democrat Patrick Londrigan from Sangamon County.
Chief Judge John Freese of the 11th Circuit in Bloomington plans to study theology after he retires in December. He was an associate judge from 1982 until 1992, when he was elected to circuit court.
Associate Judge Adam D. Bourgeois Jr. will be ineligible during the two months that his law license is suspended. The Supreme Court imposed the discipline, effective Jan. 20, because certain information was omitted from his application for appointment to the bench.
SIU to train judges
The Southern Illinois University School of Law and American Bankruptcy Institute are sponsors of a free training session from 2 to 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27, on the impact of federal bankruptcy laws on state courts.
Appellate Court justices and associate and circuit judges in the 5th District have been invited to attend. Dean Peter C. Alexander will conduct the program.
Other participants include Bankruptcy Judges Kenneth J. Meyers of the Southern District and Larry L. Lessen of the Central District, and Chief Judge Judith K. Fitzgerald of the Western District of Pennsylvania.
Others are Prof. Janet A. Flaccus of the University of Arkansas School of Law, and Christopher W. Frost, associate dean for academic affairs at the University of Kentucky College of Law.
Alexander hopes to conduct similar programs in other judicial districts at approximate six-month intervals. Call (618) 536-7711 for more information.
Gorecki could return
Mary Elizabeth "Meg" Gorecki of St. Charles began her four-month suspension from the practice of law on Feb. 1. The Supreme Court turned down her request for postponement of the disciplinary action until she finishes her term as Kane County state's attorney on Nov. 30.
Chief Judge Philip DiMarzio of the 16th Circuit has appointed Katherine Moran, chief of the office's Civil Division, to serve as temporary state's attorney until June 1, when Gorecki is expected to resume the position.
The Kane County Board voted Feb. 2 not to declare the office of state's attorney vacant so a successor could be named to complete Gorecki's term. She has said she does not plan to run for re-election.
Gorecki had sued the county board in January, seeking to prevent the appointment of an interim state's attorney and to enjoin the board from taking any action before a court decision. Judge Michael Colwell refused to stop the board from holding its special meeting.
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan issued an opinion Jan. 23 that a special state's attorney could be appointed to serve only during Gorecki's four-month suspension.
Q:I am working on a style manual for the state Labor and Industrial Relations Commission and need the answer to two questions. (1) In quotations, is the period always placed inside the quotation marks at the end of the sentence? (2) Which is correct, "We find" or "The Commission finds"?
A:This question, sent by Attorney Patrick Deaton is hardly unique. Other readers have sent similar questions before, but because many readers are puzzled about where to place punctuation in relation to the quoted material, here are the answers.