ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews legislation in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. This week he covers Judicial Retention (House Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment 20), Illinois Administrative Procedure Act (House Bill 4372), The Parentage Act of 2015 (House Bill 4447), Income shares and child support (House Bill 3982), New filing fee (Senate Bill 3162) and IMDMA cleanup (House Bill 1190). More information on each bill is available below the video.

For the first time, the Circuit Court of Cook County will create a Restorative Justice Community Court that empowers victims and residents to play an active role in the rehabilitation of adult offenders who commit certain nonviolent crimes, under a pilot program Chief Cook County Circuit Judge Timothy C. Evans announced today.

The “restorative justice” concept emphasizes the ways that crime harms relationships in the community and brings together the people most impacted by the crime to resolve it. Under the model, defendants take accountability for their actions and then work to repair the harm – for example, through restitution, community service, letters of apology, and peace circles.

In the April Illinois Bar Journal, Rock Island circuit court judge Clarence M. "Mike" Darrow and federal district judge Sara Darrow talk among other things about what parenting is like when both Mom and Dad are judges.

IBJ: What's harder, being husband-and-wife lawyers or husband-and-wife judges?

Mike: From a parental perspective, being a self-employed attorney gave our family an enviable level of flexibility for the many moving parts of raising six young children. Fortunately, now that our children are older we don't need that same level of flexibility with our fixed schedules. Our children have taken the whole thing in stride, and we can report to parents who aspire to be judges that it will have zero impact on the orders you give at home.

Sara: We also have more in common to talk about as judges. Even though we sit in different courts, we are uniquely situated to truly understand the difficulties we each face at work.

Every litigator needs to be aware of the basic rules and procedures for appeals in Illinois Appellate Courts. Don’t miss this full-day seminar in Chicago on Friday, April 29, 2016 that offers an overview of all major aspects of the civil appeals process in the Illinois reviewing courts. Attorneys with basic practice experience in all substantive areas who have never participated (or only rarely participate) in appeals will benefit from this seminar and gain a better understanding of: the general requirements for creating a record for appellate review; the problems that can arise while making a record; when post-trial motions are required to preserve issues on appeal; how to respond to post-trial motions; how to decide if an appeal is the right choice; the ways that the appellate court clerk can help with the clarifying and procedural requirements of an appeal; the special considerations for interlocutory review; important points to consider regarding appellate motion practice; why the standard of review is important to your appeal; how to draft an effective and persuasive brief; how to present a successful oral argument; and much more

Asked and Answered

By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC

Q. I am owner of a four-attorney firm in Amarillo, Texas. We represent both individual and institutional clients. Recently, we have had numerous complaints from clients advising us that our services took longer than expected and fees were also higher than expected. I would appreciate your thoughts.

Attorney Matthew Kirsh reviews grandparent "custody" and visitation rights in Illinois.

Spring is for Cirque
Celebrate the start of spring with a new Cirque production. Inspired by James Cameron's AVATAR, TORUK - the First Flight is a live experience that takes audiences thousands of years before the events in the film. TORUK is now playing nationwide and TicketsatWork.com is offering 30% savings on tickets! Meanwhile, you can head to Vegas this April and watch the visually stunning modern acrobatic spectacular Zarkana . When you do you'll get 2 tickets for just $99. Don't miss the show's grand finale on April 30! For more ways to enjoy a Cirque spring visit TicketsatWork.com.

New! Student Loan Refinancing Partnership with SoFi

Part of the Member Marketplace. Make the most of your membership.

  With the high cost of education, we understand that many of our members are burdened with large amounts of student debt. The ISBA is proud to announce a new partnership with SoFi, the market leader in student loan refinancing, to help our members tackle these issues.

$300 Welcome Bonus* via SoFi.com/ISBA

Through this partnership, you (and your friends and family) are eligible for a

$300 welcome bonus* upon refinancing a student loan through SoFi.com/ISBA.

SoFi has originated over $8 billion of loans for over 130,000 borrowers and refinances federal and/or private student loans at low rates. Benefits include: