1998)). The judicial branch has the authority, in order to prevent a violation of equal protection, to order the county treasurer to pay the attorney's fees of counsel assigned to an indigent mother in order to defend against private adoption petition brought by child's father and his wife seeking to terminate the natural mother's parental rights. Mother is entitled to the same procedural protection as if the action had been brought by the State under the Juvenile Court Act.
Tort immunity and liability
Arteman v. Clinton Community Unit School District No. 15, 198 Ill. 2d 475 (January 25, 2002). Section 2-201 of the Tort Immunity Act overrules common law special duty exception previously recognized by court and entitles the school district to immunity from liability for ordinary negligence associated with its alleged failure to provide proper safety equipment for roller blade exercise imposed by school during gym class. Trial court was correct to dismiss complaint; appellate court should not have reversed.
Carroll v. Paddock, 199 Ill. 2d 16 (February 7, 2002). Appellate court was correct when it determined that a not-for-profit charitable hospital and a not-for-profitable mental health care organization are not "local public entities" within the meaning of section 1-206 of the Tort Immunity Act; and thus, neither those entities nor their employees are entitled to invoke the protections of the Act. In order to qualify as a "local public entity," a not-for-profit corporation must be "organized for the purpose of conducting public business. " That requires that the entity be subject to the kinds of organizational regulations and control that are typical of other governmental units, e.g. operational control by a unit of local government, subject to regulations such as the Open Meetings Act or Freedom of Information Act or local ordinances that dictate the means and methods to be used by the not-for-profit corporation in conducting its business.
Barnes v. Chicago Housing Authority, 326 Ill. App. 3d 710 (1st District, December 3, 2001). Because defendant-LeClaire Courts Resident Management Corporation, a private, not-for-profit corporation with whom the Chicago Housing Authority had contracted for the provision of management services for the public housing development, is a "local public entity" within the meaning of section 1-206 of the Tort Immunity Act (745 ILCS 10/1-206 (West 2000)), it is immune from plaintiff's complaint alleging negligence for failure to provide adequate security. LeClaire Courts Resident Management Corporation: participates in the business of government; is subject to government oversight and regulations; and is government funded. Further, CHA is immune from allegations of both ordinary and willful and wanton negligence for its alleged failure to supervise LeClaire Courts Resident Management Corporation. Summary judgment dismissing plaintiff's complaint was proper. In addition, plaintiff failed to establish constitutional infirmity of Tort Immunity Act.
Gusich v. Metropolitan Pier & Exposition Auth. & Windy City Maintenance, 326 Ill. App. 3d 1030 (1st District, December 14, 2001). Trial court was correct to grant summary judgment to the Metropolitan Pier & Exposition Authority, the operator of McCormick Place. Because the Metropolitan Pier & Exposition Authority is a local public entity that oversaw Windy City Maintenance's work and directed the Windy City Maintenance cleaning crews as to where to clean, Metropolitan's actions in this case fall within the plain and ordinary meaning of "supervise." Accordingly, section 3-108 of the Tort Immunity Act immunizes Metropolitan from liability for failure to supervise a public place as a matter of law. However, there is a material question of fact with regards to constructive notice of debris on which plaintiff allegedly fell while working for exhibitor on loading dock, since plaintiff's supervisor testified that soda cans and other debris were present on the loading dock since previous day. Therefore, the defendant-contractor, which had contracted to provide clean up of exhibition hall and dock was not entitled to summary judgment.
American National Bank & Trust Co. of Chicago v. County of Cook, 327 Ill. App. 3d 212 (1st District, December 28, 2001). Trial court erred when it granted summary judgment to defendant county for medical malpractice allegedly committed during birth of child based on provisions of section 6-105 and 6-106 of the Tort Immunity Act (745 ILCS 10/6-105, 10/6-106 (West 2000)). Once diagnosis had been correctly made that baby was positioned in transverse lie position, every subsequent examination and treatment of mother for pregnancy fell within administrating treatment which causes injury exception to immunity of 6-106(d) of the Act and removed treatment from immunity for failure to properly diagnose.
Workers' compensation
Baggett v. Industrial Comm'n, No. 90385 (March 15, 2002). To be compensable under the Workers' Compensation Act (820 ILCS 305/1 et seq. (West 1998)), the injury complained of must be one "arising out of and in the course of the employment." (820 ILCS 305/2 (West 1998).) Industrial Commission erred when it required industrial arts teacher, who collapsed at work most likely as a result of a stress induced peptic ulcer, resulting in a heart attack and subsequent brain damage, to prove that he was under more stress than his coworkers and that he was under increased stress at the time of his collapse, in order to receive workers' compensation benefits. It is sufficient that he proved that his employment subjected him to an increased level of stress than members of the general public Further, in a "mental-physical" injury case a claimant need not demonstrate a sole, strict, scientific correlation between stress and physical injury. Arbitrator's award of benefits to the claimant is reinstated.
Daniels v. Industrial Comm'n, No. 90318 (March 21, 2002). Under section 13 of the Workers' Compensation Act (820 ILCS 305/13 (West 1992)), responsibility for appointing Industrial Commission commissioners and for filling vacancies in the office of Industrial Commission commissioner is vested in the governor "by and with the consent of the Senate." Where the vacancy occurs while the Senate is in recess, the governor is empowered to make a temporary appointment until the next meeting of the Senate, at which time he is to nominate some person to fill the position. (820 ILCS 305/13 (West 1992).) The chairman of the Industrial Commission does not have the authority to appoint a succession of arbitrators to temporarily serve as commissioners where a vacancy exists. Therefore, the Industrial Commission did not have the authority to reverse the award of the arbitrator, and the decision by the panel consisting of two improperly appointed commissioners is void. Cause is remanded to the Commission for a decision by a legally constituted panel.
Zoning
Hawthorne v. Village of Olympia Fields, No. 1-01-0447 (1st District, February 8, 2002). Plaintiff, operator of a state-licensed "day care home," was entitled to an injunction prohibiting non-home-rule village from enforcing its zoning ordinance to prohibit her use of her residence after denial of a zoning variance, because the village's ordinance constitutes exclusionary zoning, contains no provision for day care homes, and is partially preempted by the Child Care Act of 1969 (225 ILCS 10/1 et seq. (West 1998)), which gives the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services the authority to issue licenses for day care homes.
Seventh circuit adopts digital filing rule
The Federal Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has adopted a rule requiring briefs to be submitted in digital format, both to the court and to each party represented by counsel, in addition to the standard hard copy filing requirements. The applicable portion of Rule 31, subsection (e), reads as follows:
"(e) Digital Versions.
(1) A digital version of each brief (including the appendix required by Circuit Rule 30(a) to (c)) must be furnished to the court at the time the paper brief is filed, unless counsel certifies that the material is not available electronically. The full contents of the brief (from cover through conclusion) must be furnished even if digital versions of some materials in the Rule 30 appendix are not available.
(2) The digital version must be furnished on floppy disk, on CD-ROM, or via the Internet. Detailed instructions appear on the court's web page at http://www. ca7.uscourts.gov. The label of a disk, if one is used, must show the case name, docket number, and party on whose behalf the brief is presented.
(3) The electronic version must be in Portable Document Format (also known as PDF or Acrobat format). This format must be generated by printing to PDF from the original word processing file, so that the text of the digital brief may be searched and copied: PDF images created by scanning paper documents do not comply with this rule.
(4) One copy of the digital version must be furnished to each party separately represented by counsel."
(As amended Dec. 1, 2001.)
As noted in subpart (2) above, more detailed instructions on digital filing with the court can be found at the court's website at http://www.ca7.uscourts.gov.
Capital Litigation Trial Bar listing now online
Per the requirements of Supreme Court Rule 714 (195 Ill. 2d R. 714), the initial compilation of duly licensed attorneys who have qualified to serve as members of the Capital Litigation Trial Bar has been completed and may be viewed online at the Illinois Supreme Court's website at www.state.il.us/court/SupremeCourt. By clicking on the heading "Illinois Court Documents," and under the subheading "Supreme Court Documents," you will find a listing entitled, "Capital Litigation Trial Bar Rosters," which will take you to the list. You may also directly access the list by going to www.state.il.us/court/SupremeCourt/Trial_Bar_Rosters.
In the list you will find the names of those attorneys who have satisfied the minimum qualifications to participate in capital cases based upon their ability, knowledge and experience, the attorney's availability as lead or co-counsel, the county in which he or she is located, and whether the attorney is a prosecutor, public defender or in private practice. The clerk of the Supreme Court will update the list on a regular basis. Hard copies of the list will be distributed to the Chief Judge of each circuit as the list is updated.
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