In his March 2021 Illinois Bar Journal article, “A Promise of Clear Title,” Philip J. Vacco asks whether the term “warranty deed” must be interpreted as imposing upon the seller an obligation to provide a general warranty deed. In the author’s opinion, the answer is “no.” If we give the language used in these contracts its plain meaning, Vacco writes, the seller is obligated to provide a warranty deed but, without further specification, the seller is left to his own accord as to what type of warranty deed he will deliver to meet this obligation. Given these options, Vacco asks why anyone would allow their client to provide a general warranty deed when the use of a special warranty deed meets the seller’s contract obligations.

The Illinois Supreme Court issued one opinion on Thursday, March 11. In Jones v. Municipal Officers Electoral Board, the court examined the decision of the Municipal Officers Electoral Board for the City of Calumet City that disqualified the plaintiff as a candidate for mayor of Calumet City because he filed his nomination papers 13 days after a referendum passed that disqualified him. 

The ISBA's COVID-19 information and resources page has moved from the top of the ISBA homepage to the Practice and Career tab in the website's menu.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois is seeking an experienced attorney to serve in the civil division. The applicant selected will represent the U.S. government as an AUSA in a wide range of defensive and affirmative civil litigation on behalf of the United States, its agencies, and its employees. 

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois is seeking an assistant U.S. attorney in its criminal division.

AUSAs assigned to the criminal division handle a wide variety of cases, including drug trafficking and money-laundering crimes, terrorism-related offenses, firearms, and other violent crime offenses, cyber-crimes, environmental crimes, and a variety of fraud, public corruption, and white-collar offenses. 

by Judith Miller, Esq.

Americans are fairly comfortable with wealth inequality. At least, that is one conclusion that can be drawn from the 2011 research findings of Dr. Michael Norton, Harvard Business School.¹

The Illinois State Bar Association’s Lawyer Finder Service provides referrals to local lawyers Mondays through Fridays. The Service makes referrals in a number of areas of law. For the month of February 2021 there were more than 600 referrals given.

Here are the results for February 2021:

Get the updates and information you need on how the Law Division of Cook County is currently working with this informative online program. Tort law attorneys, bench and bar practitioners, and civil practice attorneys with intermediate to advanced levels of practice experience who attend this program from noon until 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 24 will better understand: how to handle motions and pretrials in the law division; how Zoom might play a role in jury trials and other parts of a case going forward; the latest information on when trials will resume in Cook County; and much more.

Join ISBA President Elect Anna Krolikowska and her husband, Eric Hanis, to explore the renowned Sonoma Valley winemaking region.

The wine country excursion is scheduled to take place May 12-16, 2022. 

The Illinois Supreme Court announced today two amendments to Order M.R. 30370 regarding remote proceedings in adult criminal cases. The Illinois Judicial Conference’s Court Operations During COVID-19 Task Force (Task Force) recommended these amendments to avoid any ambiguity and to simplify logistical issues regarding the waivers.