House Bill 3944, which was drafted by the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA), advanced out of a House committee on Wednesday by a vote of 9-2. The bill would allow citizens to record audio of police officers in public places. Video recording is already allowed in Illinois.

State law currently requires the consent of all parties before a conversation can be legally recorded. Violators face a Class 1 felony and up to a 15-year prison sentence.

ISBA members Bob Loeb of Chicago and John Rekowski of Edwardsville and ISBA first assistant counsel Melinda Bentley testified before the committee in favor of the bill.

The bill is being sponsored by Rep. Elaine Nekritz (D-Northbrook).

More and more hospitals and doctors are trying to get a piece of your p.i. client's recovery under the Health Care Services Lien Act instead of seeking payment from his or her health insurer. Why? Because they know the insurer is likely to discount their bill.

But often your client would be better off "having his or her medical expenses paid by health insurance rather than out of the tort recovery," Dennis L. Berkbigler writes in the latest ISBA Tort Trends newsletter.

What to do? Threaten to sue.

The Illinois State Bar Association and the Appellate Lawyers Association will co-host a Candidates Forum on Friday, Feb. 24, 2012 at the ISBA's Chicago Regional Office, 20 S. Clark, Ste. 900. This event will run from noon-1:30 p.m. and is free to the public.

Each appellate candidate will be permitted time to speak about his or her qualifications and reasons for seeking the position, followed by questions from the audience.

Asked and Answered

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

Q. For years our 14 attorney firm has operated under a formula based eat-what-you kill system. We are moving toward a more subjective-based system. We have been advised that we will need a compensation committee. What are your thoughts regarding compensation committees?

A. The components of your compensation plan and partner buy-in will be important to the success of your program. However, how you setup and constitute your compensation committee will be crucial. In a subjective system trust is paramount. How the members are selected, who serves on the committee, how the committee operates, and other matters must be spelled out and communicated to all partners. Here are a few ideas:

The Illinois Supreme Court has appointed Karen Hasara of Springfield, Illinois, to serve as a Commissioner of the Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission (ARDC). The ARDC is the Supreme Court agency that has administrative authority over more than 90,000 Illinois lawyers and investigates allegations of attorney misconduct.

Ms. Hasara, a non-lawyer, has a long history of public service in this state, beginning in 1975 when she was elected to serve on the Sangamon County Board. From 1980 through 1986, she was the Clerk of the Circuit Court of the Seventh Judicial Circuit, Sangamon County. In 1986, Ms. Hasara was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives, where she served the 100th District, until being elected to the Illinois Senate in the newly formed 50th Legislative District in 1992. In 1995, she was elected the Mayor of Springfield, the first woman ever to hold that office. She was re-elected in 1999 and served until her term ended in 2003. She currently serves as a Trustee of the Springfield Mass Transit District.

Ms. Hasara is a member of the Board of Trustees for the University of Illinois, the Board of the Illinois Equal Justice Foundation, and is active with the World Affairs Council of Central Illinois, the Rotary Club of Springfield, and the University of Illinois at Springfield Advisory Committee.

Book by April 27 and save $500 per couple!

Dear ISBA members,
We invite you to join us on our Fall 2012 ISBA President’s Trip – a magnificent tour of China!

Take a moment away from your busy day, close your eyes and picture yourself in a land steeped in thousands of years of history. Picture a place where the echoes of distant empires can still be heard above the urban roar of modern technology, where natural landscapes stand in stark and beautiful contrast to contemporary cityscapes. You are in a land rich in tradition and ripe with possibility.

Umberto S. Davi, of Willowbrook, a principal in the Western Springs law firm of Davi and Associates, has been elected third vice president of the Illinois State Bar Association. He will serve one year in each of three vice presidential offices and become president in 2015.

Davi, whose law practice concentrates in family law and real estate, was first elected to the ISBA Board of Governors in 1998 and was re-elected in 2004, 2008 and again in 2011. He has served on the ISBA’s 201-member Assembly and has been active on numerous committees.

A past president of the Justinian Society of Lawyers, Davi has served as president of the Willowbrook Police Pension Board for more than 10 years and is a Willowbrook Village trustee. He also is a member of the Board of Trustees of The John Marshall Law School. A native of Italy, he helped establish the Sicilian American Cultural Association.

Davi received his law degree from The John Marshall Law School, with Distinction, in 1982. A member of its alumni board, he was its president in 2005-06. He received his undergraduate degree in 1976 from Western Illinois University, in Macomb, where he was a member of the National Honor Society.

ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews bills in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. This week he covers House Bill 3944 (eavesdropping), House bill 1205 (residential burglary), House Bill 2886 (statute of limitations and sex offenses), House Bill 281 (judgement debtors) and House Bills 4460 and 4461 (domestic violence orders). More information on each bill is available below the video: