The Illinois Supreme Court announced today a temporary order to harmonize the current procedure for eviction cases during the COVID-19 pandemic with new federal requirements recently adopted as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), which was passed by Congress and signed into law on March 27, 2020.

The goal of this order is to ensure there are no inadvertent violations of the new federal law during the pandemic that would result in improper and unnecessary evictions at such a difficult time for residents of Illinois.

The Illinois Supreme Court handed down three opinions on Thursday, May 21. In People v. Green, the court weighed in on conflict-of-interest issues when an attorney has represented an intended victim of a crime where another person turns out to be the actual victim.  In Levin v. Retirement Board of the County Employees’ & Officers’ Annuity & Benefit Fund, the court upheld an appellate court decision that a county board exceeded its authority in denying an employee health insurance because she was previously a state employee. In Lewis v. Lead Industries Association, the court held that plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit to recover the costs of lead screening undergone by their children had no claim.     

Join us online from 1 until 2 p.m. on Tuesday, June 9 to gain a better understanding of the function, process, and makeup of the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board. Education law attorneys, general practitioners, and labor and employment lawyers with all levels of practice experience who attend this online seminar will learn: what information is needed when filing a petition; how to handle an unfair labor practice charge; and how to present other matters before the Illinois Education Labor Relations Board, including employee strikes.

In this Quick Takes for Your Practice video, attorney Jeffrey Dovitz discusses loan payment forbearance under the CARES Act.

In this Quick Takes for Your Practice video, attorney Anne Prenner Schmidt discusses retirement help under the CARES Act.

The Illinois Supreme Court today issued an order and operational guidelines to help courts statewide resume in-person operations and establish procedures for remote hearings. Since mid-March, the state’s courts have been operating under precautionary measures to minimize the spread of COVID-19 while continuing to conduct emergency and essential matters.

Congratulations to Brienne Berscheid for winning a Visa gift card in the ISBA's 2020 Member Appreciation Month Facebook Contest! 

As part of Member Appreciation Month, we asked members to like and comment on our Facebook Contest graphic, telling us why they value their ISBA membership. We then selected a winner at random.

Brienne's response was "I enjoy the great CLE programming and the network of helpful resources."

The Illinois Supreme Court announced the filing of lawyer disciplinary orders on May 18, 2020. Sanctions were imposed because the lawyers engaged in professional misconduct by violating state ethics law.

The Illinois State Bar Association’s Board of Governors approved three new Professional Conduct Advisory Opinions on May 15 during its regularly scheduled Board meeting.

The opinions address the duties of an in-house counsel when confronted with conduct that may be harmful to his or her employer; the prohibition on a lawyer threatening criminal charges to gain an advantage in a civil matter; and the propriety of a firm name of “X and Y” when one of the named lawyers has changed careers and no longer practices law.

The Illinois Code of Civil Procedure allows a party to submit one or more special interrogatories to the jury. A special interrogatory is a question submitted to the jury by a party seeking a determination of a specific issue or question of fact and is submitted along with the general verdict forms. The purpose of a special interrogatory is to test the general verdict by ensuring the jury understood its instructions and each element of the cause of action necessary to enter the judgment indicated. In her May Illinois Bar Journal article, “What’s So Special About Special Interrogatories,” Amy Frantz discusses the use of special interrogatories in general, provides practical tips for attorneys on their use, and highlights recent extensive changes to the special interrogatory statute.