Practice News

Chief Justice Thomas L. Kilbride and the Illinois Supreme Court announced Tuesday several important new measures to improve equal access to justice for all of the people of Illinois, and especially for the poor and vulnerable.

ISBA President John E. Thies applauds the action of the Illinois General Assembly to increase court funding to $302.3 million, up from $281.1 million last year.

"With the leadership of the Illinois Supreme Court, and especially Chief Justice Thomas Kilbride, we have begun what we all hope will be a sustained commitment to reverse the reduction in court funding, thereby ensuring that courts continue to provide their constitutionally-mandated services to the people of Illinois," Thies said, continuing: "It remains an important priority of our Association to work with the Supreme Court, the Conference of Chief Judges, the Administrative Office of Illinois Courts and the rest of the organized bar to achieve this goal."

During his term as president, Thies advocated for an increase in court funding. He established a Special Committee on Fair and Impartial Courts, co-chaired by Kane County Judge Patricia P. Golden (Ret.), of West Dundee, and Illinois Appellate Court Justice James M. Wexstten, of Mt. Vernon. Their 64-page report, which addressed the serious funding crisis facing Illinois courts, was accepted on May 17 at a meeting of the ISBA Board of Governors.

"The committee's report stopped short of saying that the current court system could not do its job, but it recognized that the breaking point was near," Thies stated.

ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews bills in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. In this episode he covers Privacy and the workplace (Senate Bill 2306), Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act (House Bill 2339), E-insurance card (Senate Bill 1775), Recorded interrogations (Senate Bill 1006) and Mortgage Foreclosure Article (Senate Bill 56). More information on each bill is available below the video

U.S. Senator Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) has recommended Manish Shah of Chicago, Chief of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office and former Chief of its Appellate Division, for appointment to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

“I am proud to put forward the name of Manish Shah to be the next federal district court judge for Northern Illinois,” Senator Kirk said.  “He’s the most experienced prosecutor we have, and because of his stellar record in working with former U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, I think he is the best one for the bench. I look forward to working with Senator Durbin to make sure we have highly-skilled candidates like Shah to help strengthen our courts and clean up Illinois.”