Defamation actions. Senate Amend-ment No. 2 to Senate Bill 2616 (Dillard, R-Downers Grove) amends the Code of Civil Procedure to do two things in defamation actions. (1) If plaintiff requests presumed damages, it may be rebutted by the defendant presenting a prima facie showing that the plaintiff has suffered no actual damages. If the defendant does make such a showing that plaintiff has suffered no actual damages, there may be no recovery of presumed damages, and the plaintiff must prove actual damages by a preponderance of the evidence. (2) Creates seven criteria to calculate plaintiff's presumed damages. This is an initiative of the Illinois Press Association.

Hog farm legislation. Senate Bill 2744 (Demuzio, D-Carlinville; Reitz, D-Sparta) prohibits a civil suit based on "potential nuisance" against a proposed livestock management facility until all the required federal, State, and local permits and approvals for the proposed facility have been granted. It also creates a presumption in any civil suit based on potential nuisance that the facility can be operated lawfully under those permits from the time they are granted until the animals are present. This is an initiative of the Illinois Pork Producers in reaction to the 2003 decision in Nickels v. Burnett, in which the Second District agreed with the potential nuisance argument of a group of neighbors of a facility after the developer had successfully gone through the regulatory process.

Local administration adjudication. Senate Bill 821 (Trotter, D-Chicago; Molaro, D-Chicago) authorizes any county to establish a code hearing unit for the adjudication of code violations by resolution. Current law authorizes it only for counties having a population of less than three million inhabitants.

Child support under Parentage Act. Senate Bill 1183 (Crotty, D-Oak Forest; Bradley, D-Marion) eliminates the provision that requires that child support be a minimum of $10 per month regardless of the non-custodial parent's income.

Deeds in Cook County. Senate Bill 2569 (del Valle, D-Chicago; Richard Bradley, D-Chicago) requires the recorder of deeds in any county with more than three million population to send a postcard notification to the previous owner upon the recording or filing of a deed on the property. The postcard must state the a deed has been filed on the property along with the any other information deemed necessary by the recorder.

Job-hunting for child support. House Bill 2150 (Soto, D-Chicago; Martinez, D-Chicago) requires the court (now discretionary) to order an unemployed obligor to seek employment, report periodically to the court with a job-hunting diary, or report to IDES or JTPA for participation in job search or training. The court is not required to do this if it makes specific findings about the person based upon clear and convincing evidence that the person is incapable of gainful employment because of a physical or mental condition or a combination of conditions.

Uninsured motorists. House Bill 4301 (Black, R-Danville) creates an additional penalty of a three-month suspension of driving privileges for driving without liability insurance. The privileges may not be reinstated unless a reinstatement fee of $100 is paid. If the driver is convicted of driving without insurance during this three-month period, his or her driving privileges must be suspended for an additional six months.