Jonathan Bilyk News
Chicago area Wendy's franchisee to pay $5.85M to end class action over worker fingerprint scans
Workers at 39 restaurants could get $384 each. Lawyers will get more than $2 million under the deal.
Lawsuit: Ex-wife owes $1M for using forgotten iPad to monitor texts, emails between CEO ex-husband and new girlfriend
A woman has filed suit against the ex-wife of her corporate CEO boyfriend, saying she used an iPad that was left at her home and still logged into her ex-husband's account to monitor their texts and emails.
Taking the Shot: As COVID vax mandate momentum builds, employers risk lawsuits, labor shortage
More than half of employers could require worker vaccinations by the end of 2021, potentially setting the stage for a surge of lawsuits, should requests for exemptions be ignored or denied.
Evanston school district: White teacher's discrimination suit over anti-racism programs 'blatant' misuse of court
Evanston-Skokie District 65 said the teacher wasn't actually discriminated against, so she can't sue over the school's alleged race-based training programs and curriculum.
Unvaccinated mom's child custody fight vs Cook County judge may be only the start of new vax battles in family law courts
A Cook County judge stepped back from his order stripping parental rights from an unvaccinated mom without a hearing, but the judge's actions could signal brutal court fights ahead for other unvaccinated parents, a leading Illinois family law attorney says.
Cook County judge who ordered mom stripped of parenting rights over COVID vax backs off decision, for now
A Cook County judge has restored parenting rights to an unvaccinated woman from whom he had earlier stripped parental rights, solely because she had not received the COVID vaccine.
Cook County assault weapons ban unconstitutionally strips residents of right to own weapons for self-defense, lawsuit says
A new lawsuit brought by three Chicago residents asserts Cook County's ban on so-called "assault weapons," in place since 2006, is unconstitutional.
Sterigenics says insurer wrongly used emissions claims to deny coverage for lawsuits over emissions
Medical device sterilization company Sterigenics has sued National Union Fire Insurance in Chicago federal court, saying all of its emissions were discharged legally under an Illinois state environmental permit.
Schools buckling under Pritzker threats to yank funds, invalidate student diplomas, but challenges may be brewing
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker facing renewed challenges to his pandemic authority, as school officials and others question his power under Illinois law to override local control and use legally questionable threats against schools and students to compel compliance with public health mandates.
Class action: Magazine publisher Meredith Corp broke IL privacy law by selling subscribers' info
A class action lawsuit filed in Chicago federal court says the publisher of People, Better Homes and Gardens, InStyle and more popular titles violated an Illinois law by selling subscriber mailing lists to anyone willing to pay.
Judges pause redistricting lawsuits vs Dems, give Dems til Sept. 1 to approve new maps using Census data
Republicans had asked the court to not give Democrats a "do over" on drawing new legislative district maps, when Democrats had not used Census data on their first attempt, resulting in unbalanced districts..
Lawsuit: Plainfield Central High School harbored football culture of hazing, locker room sex assaults vs freshman boys
According to the complaint filed in federal court, Plainfield Central High School football coaches ignored years of sexual assaults committed against freshman football players by varsity players wielding broomsticks, as part of an allegedly longstanding hazing ritual known as "Code Blue"
Republicans court filing: IL Democratic lawmakers shouldn't get unconstitutional 'do over' on drawing legislative district maps
Democrats intend to use a late August special session to redraw Illinois' state legislative districts to align with Census data, but Republicans say their failure to draft legally valid maps earlier this year means the task should go to a special redistricting commission, under Illinois' state constitution.
Turing Video hit with class action over worker facial scans with COVID screening device
A new class action lawsuit accuses Turing of violating Illinois' biometrics law for the way its Turing Shield products scans and collects facial geometry from workers undergoing COVID screenings when reporting for work.
Supreme Court won't stop construction of Obama Center, alleged destruction of Chicago's Jackson Park
A petition to the U.S. Supreme Court asserted judges have allowed federal regulatory agencies to gloss over potential extensive damage to Jackson Park's nature and historical character from the planned Obama Presidential Center, "at the beck and call of powerful political forces."
Judge: Black, Latino Pritzker campaign workers fall short on racial discrimination claims
The judge said 12 Black and Latino field organizers from the JB Pritzker for Governor campaign couldn't prove that "poor supervisors," racially insensitive training sessions or "one-off" events were enough to back their hostile work environment and discrimination claims against the campaign organization.
Landlords' federal lawsuit: CDC has no authority to ban evictions
A group of Illinois landlords and the Illinois Rental Property Owners Association have become the latest plaintiffs to argue the Centers for Disease Control overstepped its authority in prohibiting most evictions nationwide, in the name of fighting COVID-19.
Firefighters claim Winthrop Harbor underpaid them for overnight shifts
A new lawsuit claims the village of Winthrop Harbor violated federal and state wage laws in how it compensated its firefighters for certain overnight shifts.
Republicans: Census data backs up claims that Democrat-drawn district maps are illegal
Illinois Republican lawmakers said their analysis of data released by the U.S. Census Bureau last week shows Democrat-drawn legislative district maps don't meet the requirements of federal law, as they earlier alleged in their lawsuit challenging the maps.
New lawsuit: Pritzker has no authority to impose statewide school mask mandate, trampling the will of local school boards
The lawsuit notes Illinois state lawmakers are considering whether to pass new legislation that would specifically give the governor such public health powers over school districts, signalling lawmakers don't back Pritzker's assertion he already has such powers.