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Stories by Jonathan Bilyk on Cook County Record

COOK COUNTY RECORD

Tuesday, March 18, 2025

Jonathan Bilyk News


Chicago cop says superior officers wrongly accessed his private info, retaliated against him for complaining

By Jonathan Bilyk |
A Chicago narcotics officer says a sergeant and lieutenant used the Accurint service to glean some of his personal information online, and then retaliated after he allegedly refused to help cover it up and reported it to Internal Affairs.

Teacher seeks to keep up lawsuit claiming Evanston elementary schools are racially hostile to white people

By Jonathan Bilyk |
An Evanston middle school teacher has fired back vs an attempt by Evanston/Skokie District 65 to dismiss her lawsuit, which claims anti-racism programs in the district turned the schools into a racially discriminatory hostile work environment targeting white people.

SCOTUS refuses school workers' claims unions unconstitutionally took dues after they tried to leave

By Jonathan Bilyk |
Two Chicago teachers and a Moline custodian claimed their unions ignored the Supreme Court and the Constitution by limiting their ability to leave the union only to one "escape period" each year.

Attorney accuses Pritzker of 'judge shopping' in try to move mask mandate suits to Cook County, Springfield courts

By Jonathan Bilyk |
Attorney Tom Devore, who is representing many people suing Gov. JB Pritzker and school districts over student mask mandates, says the governor broke a deal and is "judge shopping"

Judge blocks NorthShore from firing workers seeking religious exemption from COVID vax mandate

By Jonathan Bilyk |
A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order against NorthShore University Health System, preventing the hospital system from firing dozens of workers seeking religious exemptions under federal and state law from NorthShore's rule requiring them to get the COVID vaccine, or face termination.

Judge: Police union contract, IL labor law blocks Chicago from simply firing cops for not getting COVID vax

By Jonathan Bilyk |
A Cook County judge has stayed enforcement of Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot's COVID vaccine mandate against the city's police officers, saying the cops have been denied "meaningful" arbitration over the rules.

Pritzker asks IL Supreme Court to send all school mask lawsuits to Cook County or Sangamon court

By Jonathan Bilyk |
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, on behalf of Gov. JB Pritzker, filed a motion with the Illinois Supreme Court to consolidate and transfer several different cases, including a massive class action involving hundreds of parents and students vs 145 school districts, over Pritzker's school mask orders.

IL Dems revise Conscience Act, but say they're not, in 'implicit recognition' law protected vax mandate objectors

By Jonathan Bilyk |
Courts will ultimately be left to unravel whether the Democrats' "declaration of existing law" should now allow the state and employers to enforce vaccine mandates against religious objectors, when courts have been skeptical, at best.

'Trying to thread a needle': Changes to IL Right of Conscience law intended to 'provide cover' for Pritzker administration, lawyer says

By Jonathan Bilyk |
Downstate attorney Tom Devore, who is behind a barrage of lawsuits vs Gov. JB Pritzker and others, says proposed changes to the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act are an 'absurd' attempt to legally justify past actions by Pritzker related to COVID vaccine mandates and COVID-related restrictions.

Lawsuit claims NorthShore Health System using vax mandate to "purge" unvaccinated religious objectors from payroll

By Jonathan Bilyk |
A class action lawsuit in federal court claims NorthShore is illegally discriminating against religious employees who object to COVID vaccines, violating their rights to religious exemptions under state and federal law.

IL Dems to strip any potential for vax mandate protection from IL Health Care Right of Conscience law

By Jonathan Bilyk |
Gov. JB Pritzker and others have argued the law was never intended to protect anyone other than doctors, and certainly not people objecting to being forced to take COVID vaccines

Lawsuits: Financier middlemen for alleged $600M+ Hollywood film licensing Ponzi scheme should pay up

By Jonathan Bilyk |
Two Cook County lawsuits say Chicago-based finance pros didn't do enough to uncover the truth behind a massive film licensing Ponzi scheme launched by their college actor friend

Chicago firefighters sue to block Lightfoot, Pritzker COVID vax mandates

By Jonathan Bilyk |
A group of Chicago firefighters have filed suit in federal court, arguing COVID vaccine mandates imposed by Gov. JB Pritzker and Mayor Lori Lightfoot are unconstitutional.

Cook County gun, ammo taxes unconstitutional, IL Supreme Court says

By Jonathan Bilyk |
The taxes violate a section of the Illinois state constitution governing how taxes can be enacted, and for what purposes, the state high court ruled, sidestepping arguments over whether the taxes violated the right to keep and bear arms.

Massive parents' class action says Pritzker, schools overstepped authority by imposing mask, COVID quarantine rules

By Jonathan Bilyk |
The lawsuit targets Gov. JB Pritzker, as well as nearly 150 school districts statewide, including at least 69 districts from throughout the Chicago area.

Judges: Democrats' June state district maps unconstitutional; New September maps still under review

By Jonathan Bilyk |
A panel of federal judges said Democrats' decision to use "population estimates," rather than Census data resulted in unbalanced districts, under a plan rushed through simply to retain firm grip on power

Union Pacific: Railroad workers illegally threatening to strike over Biden vax mandates

By Jonathan Bilyk |
Union Pacific, one of the country's largest rail carriers, has asked a judge to declare at least one union cannot strike against the company as it seeks to enforce President Biden's worker vaccine mandate.

Pritzker court filing: Natural immunity doesn't excuse Naperville firefighters from COVID vax, testing mandates

By Jonathan Bilyk |
The filing comes in response to a legal challenge brought in September by Naperville firefighters, who assert state and local COVID vaccine and testing mandates violate their rights.

'Loud and furious debate': IL Right of Conscience lawsuits to test limits of COVID, vax mandate authority

By Jonathan Bilyk |
NorthShore University Health System is just the latest in a mounting number of Illinois employers that should expect to be threatened with lawsuits under Illinois state law for denying religious exemptions to vaccine mandates.

Judge: State may overreach in stripping recognition from schools that defy Pritzker COVID orders

By Jonathan Bilyk |
A Kendall County judge has ordered the Illinois State Board of Education to restore the recognition status of a private school in Yorkville. The status had been "summarily" stripped as swift punishment for defying Gov. JB Pritzker's mask mandate.