Glenn Minnis News
Tensions, confusion, lawsuits mount concerning Sterigenics emissions in Willowbrook
Tensions, confusion and lawsuits countinue to mount in and around Willowbrook, surrounding ethylene oxide emissions from a medical device sterilization plant operated by Sterigenics in the suburban community. State lawmakers are also considering new legislation addressing the use of EO, and the EPA is continuing air monitoring after it admitted its initial round of air quality measurements from May were flawed.
Researcher: Harvey's pension problems the first, but 'certainly won't be last,' to run afoul of state law
The city of Harvey remained locked in a court fight with state officials and its own public worker pension funds over its ability to use sales tax dollars to pay its bills. But it likely is just one of dozens of cities and other governments across Illinois poised to land on the wrong side of a state law mandating pension fund payments.
Plaintiff in Cirque du Soleil junk fax suit seeks reconsideration of Illinois-only class members
CHICAGO (Legal Newsline) – The plaintiffs in a pending lawsuit before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division have filed a motion with the court to reconsider an order that partly granted class certification even as it found that class must be limited to Illinois class members.
Attorneys say recent decision by federal judge is 'valuable precedent for debt collectors'
A recent decision by an Illinois federal judge, which acknowledged the struggle that many debt collectors face when determining the lengths they should go to or the methods they should use to collect on a debt, could give those collectors a slight legal boost.
Big Cook Co. lawsuit could pave way for more road funds court fights in IL under Safe Roads Amendment
A $250 million lawsuit now pending against Cook County over its use of transportation-related tax money could be just the beginning of lawsuits against governments throughout Illinois over transportation funds in coming months under the Illinois Safe Roads Amendment.
Jury orders NorthShore medical practice to pay $5.5M over man's death during knee surgery
A Cook County jury has ordered a doctor and NorthShore medical practice to pay $5.5 million to the family of a man who died when he suffered a blood clot while being prepped for knee surgery at NorthShore Skokie Hospital.
IL Dems inconsistent on state, federal budget talks? All just political 'game of chicken,' observers say
IIllinois Democrats who spent the last two years chiding state Republicans and Gov. Bruce Rauner for attempting to link "nonbudget" reforms to negotiations over the state budget, also supported Democratic U.S. senators' attempt to shut down the federal government over nonbudget immigration reform proposals. Yet, that's just how the game is played, say observers.
Report: Settlement payments to end employment-related class action lawsuits skyrocketed in 2017
Top workplace class action lawsuit settlements skyrocketed by nearly $1 billion in 2017, reaching an overall record high of $2.72 billion after a brief one-year decline, a new report indicates.
Illinois appeals court dismisses doctor's claims lawyers' missteps cost him medical license
An Illinois appeals court has dismissed a legal malpractice suit, saying a doctor waited too long to accuse two law firms of costing him his medical license and of waiting too long to seek compensatory damages on his behalf.
Lawyer says lawsuits over corporate social activism could increase
The number of CEOs facing lawsuits from shareholders over social activism could soon be on the rise as the country grows more polarized and shareholders become more critical of the actions of top executives they perceive to be activists.
U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois launches new fraud unit
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois has launched a new unit aimed at cutting into the billions of dollars lost to health care fraud schemes.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reaches $2 million settlement with UPS in disability discrimination suit
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has brokered a $2 million settlement with UPS stemming from a 2009 suit in which the shipping giant was accused of regularly discriminating against workers with disabilities.
Federal court dismisses laundromat owner's discrimination suit against Inland Bank and Trust
A federal judge in Illinois has dismissed a suit filed by a longtime South Side Chicago businessman who accused a bank of discriminating against him when it sought to foreclose on his loan and take away his home.
Employers facing surge in class action suits over storage, use of employee fingerprints, other biometrics
A growing number of U.S. companies are turning to measures like biometric tools to validate time entries and other forms of tracking an employee's movements and actions. And as technology rapidly changes, it has also sparked a surge of litigation over data collection methods, and the levels of protection dedicated to electronically-gleaned data.
Cook County merchants left to figure out how to adjust practices, limit consumer options to collect 'pop tax'
Retailers have been left to determine how to adjust their practices and whether to reduce customer options in light of the courts' decisions to allow Cook County to impose its penny-per-ounce sweetened beverage tax.
Debate brews over whether Americans with Disabilities Act or Title VII protects transgender employees
A legal debate is now brewing over whether transgender employees should be legally protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), particularly given a spate of recent rulings, including from a Chicago federal appeals court, finding they may already be protected under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as well.
Federal judge affirms arbitration stay in racial bias lawsuit vs Chicago over waste hauling contracts
A Chicago federal court judge has denied a local trash hauling company’s request to rescind a previously imposed stay on arbitration in a dispute with the city and its primary waste hauling vendors over service contracts.
SCOTUS rules patent owners exhaust rights with sale, leaving questions for manufacturers, innovators
The U.S. Supreme Court has affirmed a lower court’s decision finding consumers and even small businesses have the right to resell products without it being considered an infringement on the rights of the original manufacturer. And the 7-1 decision could leave manufacturers and others to explore precisely what this decision may mean for their businesses and their products.
US Supreme Court ruling on Wisconsin land parcel regulation could have Illinois impact
A U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding a Wisconsin state law allowing the state to combine adjacent parcels owned by the same party for regulatory purposes could mean major changes for property owners in Illinois, as well.
District court tosses campaign-sabotage case against House Speaker Madigan for insufficient evidence
A federal judge has denied the attempt by a former challenger to powerful Ill. House Speaker Michael Madigan to resurrect his legal action against Madigan and several of his political allies, alleging the lawmaker and his political associates imrproperly conspired to sabotage his 2016 Democratic primary election campaign.