Justice Anne M. Burke was elected to the office of chief justice of the Illinois Supreme Court at the court’s September 2019 Term. She will serve a three-year term commencing Oct. 26, succeeding Lloyd A. Karmeier, whose tenure as Chief Justice ended on Oct. 25, 2019.  Chief Justice Burke is the third woman to serve as chief justice, following the late Mary Ann McMorrow and current Justice Rita B. Garman.  

As chief justice, Justice Burke will serve as the chief administrative officer of the Supreme Court, which is constitutionally vested with general administrative and supervisory authority over the more than 900 judges in the statewide judicial system.  

The Illinois Supreme Court handed down one opinion on Thursday, October 24. In Yakich v. Aulds, the court vacated a circuit court judgment, which declared unconstitutional section 513 of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act.

The ISBA is requesting that members complete a census so the Association can explore options that may include potentially offering an association health plan.

Creating an association health plan could allow members that are smaller employers to obtain coverage on terms similar to those currently available to large employers.

To determine whether an association health plan is feasible, the ISBA has partnered with Mercer, the Association’s long-term employee benefit consulting firm, to gather information about its members through a short census.

Attorney Martin D. Parsons discusses the Illinois Armed Forces Legal Aid Network, an organization that provides civil legal services for veterans, active service members, members of the Illinois National Guard, and their families.  

The Illinois Supreme Court has appointed J. Nelson Wood of Mt. Vernon to serve as a commissioner of the Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission (ARDC). The ARDC is the Supreme Court agency that investigates allegations of lawyer wrongdoing in Illinois. 

A dispute over who gets the dog after a breakup, estrangement, or adoption mishap is an all-too-common path that can lead to litigation. Where the animal is treated as “property” in our legal system, replevin actions can be used to resolve the issues of ownership and possession. Animal law attorneys, family law practitioners, and civil practice lawyers won’t want to miss this in-depth look at the avenues for relief when such disputes arise, how to advise your client who is facing an animal replevin case, and the procedures involved with these types of cases. The live webcast will be held from noon until 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 30. Topics include: an introductory overview of replevin cases in animal law; typical replevin cases and treatment by the courts; replevin statutes and relevant caselaw; procedures and client preparation, including initial hearing, bond requirement, and the necessary documents; and mediation, settlement, shared custody, and other alternatives.

The many standards of appellate review, and how these standards have evolved over time, may be creating confusion as to how to review factual determinations made by lower courts in relocation cases, writes Daniel Alcorn in his article, “Relocation, Relocation, Relocation,” in the October 2019 Illinois Bar Journal. Alcorn goes on to explore why it appears “to be so difficult … for the appellate court to faithfully adhere to what appears to be a fairly straightforward standard of review”? One reason: “There are many standards of appellate review, and their evolution over time independently of one another has caused a ‘state of confusion,’ as observed by one commentator.”

The Illinois Supreme Court handed down two opinions on Friday, October 18. In People v. Murray, the court reversed a defendant’s conviction of unlawful possession of a firearm by a street gang member on the basis that the Illinois Streetgang Terrorism Omnibus Prevention Act requires proof of specific offenses in order to satisfy the “course or pattern of criminal activity” element necessary to establish that an individual is a street gang member. In People v. Austin, the Supreme Court rejected a circuit court’s determination that a criminal charge against a woman who distributed private sexual images of her ex-fiancee’s lover violated her first-amendment rights.

The Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts announced today that it will receive a $100,000 grant from the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) as part of the Justice for All (JFA) project. The Illinois Courts’ Access to Justice Commission (ATJ) will use the funds to support a strategic action planning effort to expand access to justice in Illinois. 

JFA grants, which are funded by The JPB Foundation, The Public Welfare Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, and Open Society Foundations, were created in an effort to implement two advanced resolutions: meaningful access to effective assistance for essential civil legal needs and for traditional and non-traditional stakeholders to collaborate to develop a comprehensive approach to achieve meaningful access to justice.