The Illinois Supreme Court announced the filing of lawyer disciplinary orders on May 21, 2019. Sanctions were imposed because the lawyers engaged in professional misconduct by violating state ethics law.
The Illinois Supreme Court Rules Committee will hear comments June 19 at a public hearing in Chicago on six proposals, including a proposal to establish a protective order for the release of medical information and a proposal involving the use of deposition testimony by a party.
The committee will also consider proposed changes to Supreme Court rules involving petitions for leave to appeal, amicus curiae briefs, and an appendix to briefs filed by appellants.
A hot topic in Illinois, legalized sports gambling is a possibility now that the U.S. Supreme Court has declared that the federal ban on the activity is unconstitutional. While Congress has yet to act, states are free to legalize sports gambling on their own. In Zachary Bock’s May 2019 Illinois Bar Journal article, “Sports Gambling: Will Illinois Bet on It?,” Bock provides an overview of recent efforts to legislate gambling in Illinois and elsewhere. He also summarizes the wide range of decisions that need to be made before bets are placed in Illinois. Among his takeaways: Illinois should monitor states such as Pennsylvania, where high sports-gambling fees and taxes have been imposed.
The Illinois Supreme Court on May 17 announced amendments to Rules 68, 472, and 558. The changes are effective immediately.
Supreme Court Rule 68 requires judges to file a written statement of economic interests and relationships of the judge and members of the judge’s immediate family with the Supreme Court’s clerk. The amendment requires the clerk to redact the judge’s email address contained in any statement filed pursuant to the Rule.
The Illinois Supreme Court has appointed Thomas M. Cushing as an at-large Cook County circuit judge.
Cushing was appointed to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of the Hon. Nicholas R. Ford on April 12. The appointment is effective June 19 and will conclude Dec. 7, 2020, when the position will be filled by the November 2020 General Election.
The Secretary of State’s office receives many types of civil documents/orders from courts and attorneys regarding judgments arising from uninsured motor vehicle crashes. These documents need to be read, interpreted, and processed by employees of the Secretary of State (SOS) to determine what, if any, action should be taken against a person’s driver’s license.
Because the SOS employees processing these documents are not attorneys and because these documents vary by county and by attorney, reading and understanding the content of the submitted documentation can be difficult. Understanding the documents is of utmost importance since action taken based on those documents can affect a person’s legal ability to drive.
Spotlight on Pro Bono: The Public Interest Law Initiative’s Statewide Pro Bono Programs
The Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI) is a nonprofit organization based in Chicago, with offices in Peoria and Champaign. PILI’s mission is to engage, inspire, and empower those advancing equal access to justice. PILI envisions making equal access to justice a reality through a legal community with a deeply rooted culture of service, where pro bono and public interest law engagement is optimized to best serve people, families, and communities in need.
A survey of more than 40,000 people in 22 countries conducted jointly by the University of Southern California, the London Business School, and PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers) found that 80 percent of millennials and members of Generation X prefer face-to-face meetings with colleagues. Also, 80 percent said in-person interactions, more than any other individual form of communication, are critically important to maintaining relationships and 96 percent preferred face-to-face meetings with their supervisors regarding professional growth. In “Branching Out,” the cover story for the May 2019 Illinois Bar Journal, we note that while traditional face-to-face interactions at bar association events (e.g., golf outings) remain part of the culture, social media and online interactions have become increasingly important and have altered expectations and preferences for networking in general. Granted that networking preferences may differ across generations, the IBJ asks whether meaningfully connecting with colleagues in person remains a high priority for attorneys of all ages.
Illinois Supreme Court justices welcomed 335 new attorneys to the legal profession on May 9 during admissions ceremonies held at four different locations across the state.
ISBA staff members were in attendance at all five ceremonies to welcome the state's newest attorneys to the profession, take photos, and talk about the benefits of ISBA membership, which is free for one year for new admittees. Member benefits can be activated by filling out the New Admittee Membership Form.
All of those who were sworn in have passed the Illinois State Bar Examination and a required ethics examination and were certified by the Supreme Court Committee on Character and Fitness. They bring the total number of licensed attorneys in Illinois to approximately 96,300.
Illinois Supreme Court justices welcomed 335 new attorneys to the legal profession on May 9 during admissions ceremonies held at four different locations across the state. 
