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Stories by Jonathan Bilyk on Cook County Record

COOK COUNTY RECORD

Monday, March 17, 2025

Jonathan Bilyk News


IL Supreme Court denies Pritzker appeal over school mask mandates as moot, vacates restraining order

By Jonathan Bilyk |
Gov. JB Pritzker warned he may attempt to impose mask mandates again in the future, if he believes they are needed

No COVID emergency to justify giving Pritzker back his emergency powers over schools: DeVore filing

By Jonathan Bilyk |
The lawyer for Illinois students, parents and educators responded to Gov. JB Pritzker's petition asking the Illinois Supreme Court to put a hold on a Springfield judge's order barring Pritzker from enforcing his school mask mandate and other COVID restrictions

Arlington Heights says Rolling Meadows refusing to give up $1.2M in sales taxes wrongly collected from Cooper's Hawk

By Jonathan Bilyk |
The village of Arlington Heights says its neighbor was given the money in error by the Illinois Department of Revenue, but is refusing to refund it

Judge OKs $10M Octapharma fingerprint class action deal; $800+ per class member, $3.3M for lawyers

By Jonathan Bilyk |
A federal judge granted final approval to a deal to end a class action vs Octapharma Plasma over claims the company improperly required plasma donors to scan their fingerprints, in violation of Illinois' biometrics privacy law

County health dept owes $374K to lawyers who represented nurse forced from job for refusing to refer abortions

By Jonathan Bilyk |
The lawyers said they hope the ruling and resulting payout will send a message to other Illinois governments and health care employers who might try to force workers to choose between their religious beliefs and their jobs.

IL Supreme Court to lift statewide courthouse mask mandate Feb. 28

By Jonathan Bilyk |
The Illinois Supreme Court will end the courthouse mask mandate it has had in place since last September, at the same time Gov. JB Pritzker lifts his statewide indoor mask mandate

Pritzker asks IL Supreme Court to restore his power to force school students to mask, test, be excluded, over COVID

By Jonathan Bilyk |
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker says only the Illinois Supreme Court can "halt mischief," as school districts statewide ditch forced masking, testing and student exclusion policies that a Springfield judge says were illegal

DeVore to run for Attorney General: Lawyer who has repeatedly challenged Pritzker's COVID powers announces candidacy

By Jonathan Bilyk |
Downstate lawyer Tom DeVore, who led the case that secured a court order blocking Pritzker's school mask mandates, says he will seek to challenge Attorney General Kwame Raoul, who he said has acted as Pritzker's "personal attorney" rather than "the people's legal counsel"

Southside Recycling developers to renew court fight, demand $100M+ from city for denying permit

By Jonathan Bilyk |
The owners of the Southside Recycling metal recycling plant say the city's permit denial was motivated by politics, not science, and warned businesses from attempting to do business with the city, a "not reliable partner."

IL Supreme Court may be next stop for Pritzker's continued fight to reimpose school mask rules, other COVID mandates

By Jonathan Bilyk |
Gov. JB Pritzker and Attorney General Kwame Raoul each promised to ask the Illinois Supreme Court to undo lower court rulings declaring Pritzker's COVID school rules to be non-existent, null, void

'No actual controversy': Pritzker appeal of COVID school mandates TRO dismissed

By Jonathan Bilyk |
Appellate justices declined to step in, saying a decision by a committee of state lawmakers to not allow Gov. JB Pritzker to renew his school mask mandate and other COVID-related school rules means the state, at this time, has no rules to enforce, and the Springfield judge has no rules to restrain

Raines-Welch, wife of House Speaker Chris Welch, announces candidacy for Cook County judge

By Jonathan Bilyk |
Attorney ShawnTe Raines-Welch in her announcement highlighted both her own credentials and her relationship to the powerful House Speaker

Attorneys: Appeals court still must rule on Springfield judge's ruling, despite JCAR rejection of Pritzker's COVID school rules

By Jonathan Bilyk |
Tuesday, a committee of Illinois lawmakers refused to allow Gov. JB Pritzker to renew his "emergency" COVID school rules. But a key legal question concerning the limits of Pritzker's powers should be addressed by a state appeals court, said attorneys for Pritzker and those for students and parents

Chicago Public Schools should be held in contempt for continuning to enforce mask mandate, says students' lawyer

By Jonathan Bilyk |
Attorney Tom DeVore has asked a Springfield judge to require CPS and its CEO Pedro Martinez to explain why they shouldn't held in contempt for essentially ignoring the judge's order blocking enforcement of school mask mandates

Timeclock vendor Kronos agrees to pay $15M to end fingerprint scan class action; Lawyers to get $5M

By Jonathan Bilyk |
According to settlement documents, nearly 172,000 class members - people who used Kronos fingerprint scanning timeclocks to punch in and out of work shifts - could be in line for payments of $290-$580 each

Lawsuit: Chicago, Cook County vax passports do nothing vs omicron, 'patently irrational,' unconstitutional

By Jonathan Bilyk |
A group of Chicago and Cook County residents have sued the city and county, saying the vaccine passport orders deprive people of their rights without coming close to achieving their stated goals of reducing the spread of the omicron COVID variant

DeVore: Pritzker engaged in 'mental gymnastics' to justify appeal of Grischow TRO vs guv's school COVID orders

By Jonathan Bilyk |
Attorney Tom DeVore urged a Springfield appeals court to reject Pritzker's attempt to block enforcement of a restraining order issued by a Springfield judge against his school COVID orders, noting 6 other judges already sided with Judge Grischow's reasoning

Ex-Morton College inspector gen drops racketeering claims vs college over his firing; Faces suit over alleged bid rigging

By Jonathan Bilyk |
The former inspector general at Morton College has asserted he was wrongly fired in retaliation for uncovering alleged misconduct by college leaders. The college, though, claims he helped rig a bid for a contractor to land a $2 million deal.

Pritzker asks appeals court to slap mask mandates, other COVID restrictions, back onto schools

By Jonathan Bilyk |
Gov. JB Pritzker and Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul asked a state appeals court to move quickly to block a Springfield judge's temporary restraining order that voided emergency rules two state agencies used to impose mask mandates and other COVID-related restrictions on schools and students statewide.

IL hiring watchdogs: Pritzker administration refusing to certify that political hiring isn't happening in state govt

By Jonathan Bilyk |
In a new filing in a court fight over whether to continue federal court oversight over Illinois state government hiring practices, reform advocates allege Gov. JB Pritzker's administration won't agree to certify under oath that they have no knowledge of continued politically motivated hiring