Workers’ Compensation Law

(Thapedi, D-Chicago) creates the Non-Recourse Civil Litigation Funding Act. Requires that all contracts for non-recourse civil litigation funding must meet specified criteria. The contract must allow the consumer to cancel the contract within five business days after the consumer receives the funds without penalty or further obligation. Specifies the notice requirements for contracts and sets requirements for fee calculations. Prohibits unregistered companies from doing these transactions with consumers. Requires the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation to consider certain criteria while making decisions regarding registration. The Department is to make and enforce reasonable rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of the Act. Just introduced.

(Cunningham, D-Chicago) requires a judge to have actively practiced law in Illinois for at least ten years before he or she can be elected or appointed an associate or circuit judge in Cook County. To be eligible for either office, a potential judge must have been certified as qualified to be a Judge or Associate Judge by at least five members of the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission. Before a lawyer may run for nomination, election, or retention for any judgeship at any level in Cook County, the prior approval of the ARDC members is required. Retention of a judge will require a two-thirds vote (currently three-fifths). This retention change appears to affect all Illinois judges. Effective upon adoption and applies only to persons seeking election or appointment as a Judge or Associate Judge after the adoption of the Amendment. Just introduced.

(Cassidy, D-Chicago) is a proposed constitutional amendment that changes judicial retention for Supreme, Appellate, and Circuit Judges. It creates a Judicial Retention Commission in each Judicial District to evaluate the qualifications of Supreme and Appellate Court Judges seeking retention and creates a Judicial Retention Commission in each Judicial Circuit to determine the qualification for Judges for retention in the Circuit. If a judge is found to be unqualified by the applicable commission, the judge may seek retention in the general election. Judges that are found qualified are retained in office.

(Madigan, D-Chicago; Harmon, D-Oak Park) does three things in the Code of Civil Procedure. (1) Re-enacts and repeals statutory provisions so the text of those provisions conforms to the decisions of the Illinois Supreme Court in Best v. Taylor Machine Works and Lebron v. Gottlieb Memorial Hospital. (2) Caps contingent attorney’s fees in a medical malpractice action at 33 1/3 per cent of all sums recovered. (3) Limits the supersedeas bond requirement for all the appellants collectively in the tobacco settlement to be no more than $250 million. Sent to the Governor.