Jonathan Bilyk News
Judge: Smith & Wesson can't shoot down lawsuits over 2022 Highland Park massacre
A Lake County judge has rejected attempts by firearms maker Smith & Wesson to dismiss 25 lawsuits seeking to use Illinois state law to secure a potential massive payout from the company for allegedly illegally marketing their weapons in ways to entice 'thrill-seeking young men' to carry out acts of mass violence
Illinois automated license plate reader camera scans aren't unconstitutional searches, judge says
A federal judge in Chicago tossed, for now, a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Illinois' network of automated license plate readers, accusing the state of installing implementing an unconstitutional "dragnet surveillance" system. The judge said the Fourth Amendment doesn't prevent license plate reader scans.
Pritzker again pours money into the race for control of Wisconsin's state Supreme Court
Wisconsin state campaign finance records show Illinois billionaire Gov. JB Pritzker donated $1.5M to support the campaign of Democratic Judge Susan Crawford in the race for control of Wisconsin's state Supreme Court. Democrats have, at the same time, criticized Republicans for attempting to "buy" the seat
'Baseless targeting': Internal review shows feds sought to punish Townstone over radio comments
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has asked a federal judge to reverse a settlement with Townstone Financial and refund $105K the company had paid to end a regulatory action that sought to punish the company over comments made on a radio show which the agency claimed were discriminatory
Lawsuit: Champaign abortion doc left 'half of pre-born baby' in woman's body post-abortion
An Ohio doctor, who runs an abortion clinic in Champaign, has been accused of severely injuring a woman during an abortion, by allegedly perforating her uterus and leaving half of the unborn baby lodged in her pelvis, and then ignoring her requests for help amid the complications
Wendy's can't be sued for targeted hit on man waiting at South Side Wendy's drive-thru
A federal appeals panel has upheld a lower court judge's ruling that a man who suffered severe injuries when his car was shot up by two assailants at a Wendy's restaurant near Englewood in Chicago in 2018 can't sue the restaurant for failing to protect him.
Owner of Waukegan restaurant building can be sued for not stopping car from crashing through front window
A state appeals panel had earlier agreed the Waukegan Mexican restaurant owners can be sued by a customer who was injured when a car crashed through the front window. Now, the state appeals panel says there is no reason the building owners can't also be sued for failing to install barriers to prevent such crashes
Jewish lawyer can sue Cook Co. Public Defender for making her take down pic featuring Israeli flag, gun
A federal judge said Debra Gassman has done enough so far to show the Cook County Public Defender's office violated her First Amendment rights by forcing her to take down a photo from her office showing the ex-IDF volunteer holding a rifle in front of the Israeli flag
Appeals court: Chicago can sue out-of-state gun shop over gun crimes in the city
Chicago and gun control activists can revive their lawsuit against a now-closed Indiana gun shop for allegedly supplying illegal firearms to criminals in the city, a state appeals panel says. The decision overturns a Cook County judge's ruling, which had determined Illinois courts lacked jurisdiction in the dispute
River Forest developer sues ex-attorney, claims conduct violations, malpractice in divorce cost him millions, led to jailing
Frank "Marty" Paris, who was jailed three times for allegedly failing to pay lawyers in his contentious divorce case, has sued his ex-lawyers Brian Hurst and the firm of Hurst Robin Kay & Miller, claiming they "abandoned" him on the eve of trial and then represented another lawyer against him seeking hundreds of thousands in fees
Lawsuit: IL should pay for releasing man who murdered 11-year-old boy the next day
The lawsuit was filed vs the Illinois Prisoner Review Board by Laterria Smith, mother of Jayden Perkins, who was stabbed to death defending his mom vs ex-boyfriend, who had been let out of jail the day before, despite known, actual threats against Smith and her family
UIC prof can revive suit vs school for punishing him over 'racially insensitive' exam question, comments to students
A federal appeals panel agreed the University of Illinois at Chicago law professor had established the university can't use 'qualified immunity' to end his lawsuit claiming the school had trampled his rights to speak freely in class and when talking with students, in response to complaints from offended students
Cook County Public Defender poised to win OK to represent illegal immigrants in deportation cases beyond Chicago
The Cook County Public Defender's Office has represented 150+ immigrants facing deportation in Chicago Immigration Court since 2022. IL lawmakers are poised to allow the office to expand that mission to immigration courts elsewhere. Critics worry the program will only balloon from here, conflict with feds under Trump
Steris Isomedix reaches $48M deal to end Lake County EtO lawsuits
The settlement has not yet been approved. However, Steris said the deal would resolve the majority of 275 lawsuits accusing the company over alleged cancer-causing ethylene oxide emissions from a medical device sterilization plant in Waukegan
Justice Department to support effort to strike down IL law pushing 'diverse' nonprofit boards
The Justice Department under President Trump has moved to intervene in the lawsuit brought against the state by the American Association for Equal Rights, seeking to overturn Illinois' law requiring nonprofits to report on the races and genders of their board members and staff. They say the law promotes intentional discrimination
New filing: Illinois has constitutional authority to ignore immigration law, complicate deportations
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul responded to the Trump administration's lawsuit vs Illinois' 'Sanctuary' laws, arguing the U.S. Constitution and past court decisions allow the state to pass laws forbidding police from cooperating with nearly all federal immigration enforcement 'schemes'
Anti-Israel activists seek end to class action over protest blockade of main O'Hare road entrance
Lawsuit accuses activists of illegally conspiring to block I-190 and "imprison" people in their vehicles as part of a nationwide campaign to disrupt economic and societal activity to support Hamas in its war with Israel. The activists say the lawsuit is "baseless" and the plaintiffs should be punished by the court
IL high court questions if GOP gerrymandering suit is 'timely;' GOP: 'Unquestionably' so
Democrats have yet to respond to a Republican lawsuit seeking to toss out Democrats' partisan gerrymandered Illinois state legislative maps. But the Democrat-dominated Illinois Supreme Court moved on its own to ask both sides to present arguments if the challenge to the maps was "timely."
Appeals court: CTA can't be sued over death of woman struck by L train while retrieving dropped phone
A state appeals panel said the CTA owed no special duty to keep a watch out for or rescue a woman who had dropped down onto the tracks at the 69th Street Red Line station to retrieve the mobile phone she had dropped seconds before she was struck and killed by a train attempting an emergency stop
City Hall curbs class action over cell phone distracted driving tickets
Plaintiffs have filed to appeal the ruling of a Cook County judge, who said a recent Illinois Supreme Court decision all but demolishes a class action lawsuit claiming the city has for more than a decade wrongly prosecuted distracted driving tickets through city administrative hearings, rather than in court