Practice News

By Karen Alice Kloppe, graduate of Illinois State University (B.A.) and the University of Illinois College of Law (J.D.). 

National Healthcare Decisions Day

National Healthcare Decisions Day is April 16, 2026.  This event is part of a public awareness initiative designed to promote the use of advance directives to plan for and document medical wishes in the event of an emergency when an adult may not be able to act or make decisions.  

Justice David K. Overstreet and the Illinois Supreme Court have announced the appointment of Chelsey Elizabeth Clark as Resident Judge in the Second Judicial Circuit, Richland County.

Ms. Clark is being appointed to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Ray Vaughn. The appointment is effective April 17, 2026, and will conclude on December 7, 2026. She is running unopposed for the seat in the November general election.

As Charles N. Insler observes in his March Illinois Bar Journal article, “Appellate Practice in Motion,” motion practice is not just for the trial courts. Persuasive motions can be filed in the Illinois Appellate Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. And these are not motions for an extension of time, Insler notes. Rather, these are motions to dismiss, to strike, to supplement, or to consolidate. Such critical motions can help to frame or outright win your appeal.

The Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Access to Justice (ATJ Commission) is charged with promoting accessible, responsive, fair, inclusive, safe, unbiased, and welcoming courts. To help achieve this vision, the ATJ Commission created the Community Trust and Disability Access Committees, both of which are seeking applications for new volunteer members from Illinois who would like to contribute to these efforts.

If approved, members are expected to serve three-year, renewable terms and are expected to prepare for, attend, and contribute to monthly Committee meetings.