Chair’s ColumnBy Jessica PatchikFamily Law, May 2025A note from the chair: "From the bottom of my heart, I thank all of my fantastic, beautiful 'Family Law Peeps' for giving me such a cool experience."
Chair’s ColumnBy Alan JedlickaEnergy, Utilities, Telecommunications, and Transportation, April 2025A note from the chair.
Chair’s ColumnBy Jessica PatchickFamily Law, April 2025A note from the chair.
Chair’s ColumnBy Jessica PatchickFamily Law, March 2025A note from the chair.
Chair’s ColumnBy H. Vincent DraaInternational and Immigration Law, March 2025A note from the chair regarding recent section council activity.
Chair’s ColumnBy Jessica PatchikFamily Law, February 2025A note from the chair.
Chair’s ColumnBy Deanna HoytWomen and the Law, February 2025A message from the chair regarding volunteering in your community.
Chair’s ColumnBy Jessica PatchikFamily Law, January 2025A note from the chair.
Chair’s ColumnBy H. Vincent DraaInternational and Immigration Law, January 2025A note from the chair regarding recent section council activity and a brief look at what's to come in 2025.
Chair’s Column: The Lawyers Trust Fund of IllinoisBy Judge Barb Crowder, (ret.)Senior Lawyers, February 2025The mission of the Lawyers Trust Fund is to support non-profit legal aid organizations throughout Illinois that assist low-income individuals with civil legal needs. Learn about the Lawyers Trust Fund of Illinois' important work.
Chair’s ReportBy Craig J. SondgerothEnergy, Utilities, Telecommunications, and Transportation, June 2025A note from the incoming chair on the year ahead.
Challenging and Setting Aside International Commercial Arbitral AwardsBy H. Vincent DraaInternational and Immigration Law, March 2025The arbitration process usually culminates in a final award, which a party has a limited right to challenge. However, the value of such challenges is a point of contention. Opponents of judicial review contend that it weakens the quick resolution sought in arbitration. Proponents, on the other hand, argue that the absence of review, combined with the considerable authority of arbitrators, introduces potential risks. Despite this ongoing debate, courts typically adopt a narrow approach when reviewing arbitral awards, acknowledging the limited bases upon which challenges can be made.
Change Is Stirring at the Equal Employment Opportunity CommissionBy Rachel E. Bossard & Christopher E. KentraCorporate Law Departments, April 2025Shortly after the inauguration, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced that President Donald J. Trump had named Commissioner Andrea R. Lucas Acting Chair of the EEOC. Lucas has served as an EEOC Commissioner since 2020, after being nominated by President Trump during his first term. During her tenure on the Commission, Lucas has written frequently about her views on challenging and emerging issues in employment and civil rights law, and to address what she believes are common misunderstandings about the law.
Changes to the Illinois Public Adjuster ActBy Mark B. GrzymalaConstruction Law, November 2025Updates to the Illinois Public Adjuster Act, effective January 1, 2024, impact various aspects of public adjusting, including expanded definition and scope, licensing requirements, contractual agreements, and fee structures. Learn what this may mean for you and your business.
Chicago Northwest Side Preservation OrdinanceBy Bob Floss, IIReal Estate Law, May 2025[For attorneys practicing outside of Chicago, please do not disregard this article.] Bob Floss reviews an extremely controversial ordinance now in effect in one ward of Chicago. Floss discusses why this topic is important to all attorneys in Illinois. The concept of government awarding tenants a right of first refusal is not new. The first Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA) was introduced in Washington D.C. in 1980. The law gained some traction in the East Coast, expanding to Takoma Park, Maryland, in 1987, but remained isolated to those areas. Recent sentiment for housing as a human right has renewed interest in the law and sudden expansion.
Child Support in Illinois—Multiple Answers to a Single QuestionBy Nancy Chausow ShaferRural Practice, April 2025This article discusses allocation of the dependent tax exemption and designation of the majority-time parent—two tax-related choices often misunderstood and used incorrectly.
Child Support in Illinois—Multiple Answers to a Single QuestionBy Nancy Chausow ShaferFamily Law, February 2025This article discusses allocation of the dependent tax exemption and designation of the majority-time parent—two tax-related choices often misunderstood and used incorrectly.
Coast to Coast: Big News for Building ElectrificationBy Daniel Carpenter-GoldEnergy, Utilities, Telecommunications, and Transportation, November 2025Two key decisions, Rinnai v. South Coast Air Quality Management District and Mulhern Gas v. Mosley, rejected arguments that challenged New York's all-electric requirement for new buildings. This perhaps demonstrates a shift from and the limitations to California Restaurant Association v. City of Berkeley, which held that applicable federal law preempts state and local electric requirements.
Cohabitation—Will We Know It When We See It?By Christopher BohlenFamily Law, January 2025The issue is cases with similar fact patterns, but different results leave the parties involved with maintenance in a quandary. What is the meaning of residing in a continuing conjugal relationship? Recent cases have been able to define the concept. It is a de facto marriage. It is not an intimate dating relationship. But what is the bright line between those two concepts? Is it answered by Justice Stewart’s concept of “I know it when I see it”? More importantly, is the termination of maintenance based upon cohabitation so fact-specific and unpredictable as to argue for its elimination?
CoLT Tips and TricksBy Nerino J. Petro, Jr.Legal Technology, Standing Committee on, October 2025Learn more about 7 tech tips to incorporate into your life and practice!
CoLT Tips, Tricks, and TechBy Nerino J. Petro, Jr.Legal Technology, Standing Committee on, March 2025This edition of Tips, Tricks, and Tech covers how to use (and find) a diagnostic and repair tool for your PC hardware and devices in Windows 10 and 11.
The Combined Guardianship and Mental Health Docket, or Calendar 20, Segregates Some of the Trees From the ForestBy Ann KrasuskiElder Law, November 2025The author of the companion article has not identified a problem that a combined docket solves. No doubt, the Mental Health Code (Code) and adult guardianship under the Probate Act address and strive to solve issues people face. Yet, as the author discusses, there are still shortcomings. But after several pages discussing gaps in mental health care and problems families face, she has not identified how establishing a combined docket solves any shortcomings or how it benefits respondents.
The Combined Guardianship and Mental Health Docket, or Calendar 20, Segregates Some of the Trees From the ForestBy Ann KrasuskiTrusts and Estates, October 2025The author of the companion article has not identified a problem that a combined docket solves. No doubt, the Mental Health Code (Code) and adult guardianship under the Probate Act address and strive to solve issues people face. Yet, as the author discusses, there are still shortcomings. But after several pages discussing gaps in mental health care and problems families face, she has not identified how establishing a combined docket solves any shortcomings or how it benefits respondents.
The Combined Guardianship and Mental Health Docket, or Calendar 20, Segregates Some of the Trees From the ForestBy Ann KrasuskiElder Law, August 2025The author of the companion article has not identified a problem that a combined docket solves. No doubt, the Mental Health Code (Code) and adult guardianship under the Probate Act address and strive to solve issues people face. Yet, as the author discusses, there are still shortcomings. But after several pages discussing gaps in mental health care and problems families face, she has not identified how establishing a combined docket solves any shortcomings or how it benefits respondents.
The Combined Guardianship and Mental Health Docket, or Calendar 20, Segregates Some of the Trees From the ForestBy Ann KrasuskiMental Health Law, July 2025The author of the companion article has not identified a problem that a combined docket solves. No doubt, the Mental Health Code (Code) and adult guardianship under the Probate Act address and strive to solve issues people face. Yet, as the author discusses, there are still shortcomings. But after several pages discussing gaps in mental health care and problems families face, she has not identified how establishing a combined docket solves any shortcomings or how it benefits respondents.
Comments from the ChairBy Ronald S. LangackerHuman and Civil Rights, April 2025A note from the chair regarding recent section council activity.
Comments from the ChairBy Ronald S. LangackerHuman and Civil Rights, January 2025A note from the chair.
Commissioner Spotlight: Carolyn DohertyBy Alexis FerracutiWorkers’ Compensation Law, October 2025Each month, the Workers’ Compensation Law Section Newsletter will feature an Arbitrator or Commissioner spotlight to help the practicing bar get to know the Commission on a personal and professional basis.
Comp in the ClassroomBy Brandy JohnsonWorkers’ Compensation Law, August 2025A law professor details her experience with developing an innovative Workers' Compensation course to provide students with real-world practice experience.
