2026 Articles

On Nov. 26, 2025, the Fifth District of the Illinois Appellate Court held that granting summary judgment in favor of the defendant was proper in a wrongful-death suit because the plaintiff failed to establish a genuine issue of material fact that would support an allegation of willful and wanton misconduct by the ambulance crew.

On Dec. 19, 2025, the Third District of the Illinois Appellate Court held that repeated safety complaints are sufficient to state a claim for retaliatory discharge.

On Dec. 15, 2025, the First District of the Illinois Appellate Court held that parental rights may be terminated where unfitness is proven by clear and convincing evidence, the parent did not make reasonable progress in the reunification plan, and termination is in the child’s best interest.

On Dec. 31, 2025, the First District of the Illinois Appellate Court held that a finding of parental unfitness was not against the manifest weight of the evidence when the father failed to maintain a reasonable degree of responsibility for his children’s welfare.

On Dec. 15, 2025, the Second District of the Illinois Appellate Court held that an indictment alleging theft of “United States currency” was not fatally defective where the evidence showed the defendant unlawfully obtained wages through electronic direct deposits.

The Illinois Secretary of State amended the Part titled Certificates of Title, Registration of Vehicles to add a formal transfer-on-death beneficiary process for Illinois vehicle titles. 

On March 2, 2026, the Fifth District of the Illinois Appellate Court held that a trial court may not sua sponte vacate its order granting a defendant leave to file a successive postconviction petition after ruling on the state’s motion to dismiss and conducting a full evidentiary hearing.

On Oct. 2, 2025, the Fifth District of the Illinois Appellate Court held that trust assets may not be used to pay off an encumbrance absent express terms of the decedent’s trust or will establishing intent for trust assets to be used for the encumbrance.

On Dec. 30, 2025, the First District of the Illinois Appellate Court held that Illinois had continuing, exclusive jurisdiction to modify a child support order under the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA) where the parties consented in open court by proceeding without objection.

On Dec. 15, 2025, the Second District of the Illinois Appellate Court held that admitting a forensic laboratory report through a surrogate analyst violated the defendant’s confrontation clause rights.