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Stories by Jonathan Bilyk on Cook County Record

COOK COUNTY RECORD

Friday, March 14, 2025

Jonathan Bilyk News


Biden DOJ: IL vote by mail system, championed by Democrats, doesn't conflict with federal election law

By Jonathan Bilyk |
Attorneys general from the Biden Justice Department have sided with Illinois Democrats in a legal fight in federal court over questions whether Illinois' law, which allows votes to be received two weeks after Election Day, violates federal Election Day law

Ex-Bulls star Kukoc sues Swiss bank, says 'aided, abetted' $11M theft by Kukoc's ex-financial advisor

By Jonathan Bilyk |
Former Chicago Bulls star player Toni Kukoc said Swiss bank EFG International should pay for not stopping a personal banker from helping Kukoc's former financial advisor allegedly misappropriate $11 million from Kukoc's accounts

Portillo's, Red Lobster, Chipotle, others targeted by biometrics class action over phone ordering system

By Jonathan Bilyk |
The class action lawsuit accuses the popular restaurant chains of using an automated voice operating system that improperly recorded and analyzed customers' voices when they placed orders by phone

Appeals panel: Natural immunity proof not enough to defeat Covid vax job mandates; Don't violate 'fundamental rights'

By Jonathan Bilyk |
The U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals says Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot have a 'low bar' to clear in defending their mandates that force government workers to choose between taking the vaccine and keeping their jobs because the orders don't infringe fundamental rights

Lawsuit: Progress Illinois smeared health care exec to boost Giannoulias campaign; Suit is 'simply harassment,' says Progress IL

By Jonathan Bilyk |
Progress Illinois publisher says the suit by public health executive Suzett McKinney is "frivolous," and an extension of the campaign waged by Chicago City Clerk Anna Valencia in the race for the Democratic nomination for Illinois Secretary of State

Class action: Kroger allegedly regularly overcharges customers, ringing up sale items at regular price

By Jonathan Bilyk |
The new lawsuit says Kroger and its Chicago area Mariano's supermarkets routinely force customers to dispute the alleged overcharges

Lawyers seek $40M in fees from Google Photos face scans settlement

By Jonathan Bilyk |
Google has agreed to pay $100 million to end a sprawling class action under Illinois' biometrics privacy law, bringing about $200-$400 each to an estimated 280,000 Illinois residents. The lawyers who led the lawsuit want 40% of the settlement

Class action accuses Lettuce Entertain You of slapping on 'deceptive' Covid-related surcharges to customer checks

By Jonathan Bilyk |
The lawsuit says the 3-4% surcharges and processing fees are added to customer bills at the time of purchase, with no warning, in violation of state consumer fraud law

Class action: Chicago denied refunds to people who prepaid for water services

By Jonathan Bilyk |
The lawsuit says the city has created a "legally untenable Catch-22" for people who are otherwise owed refunds

IL SnapChat users could get about $100 each under $35M Lenses biometrics class action deal; Lawyers could get $12M

By Jonathan Bilyk |
A judge granted a preliminary OK to the settlement deal to end the class action against SnapChat's corporate parent under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act.

CTA OK to trim pension payout to retiree who 'double dipped,' appeals panel says

By Jonathan Bilyk |
The Illinois First District Appellate Court said the Chicago Transit Authority wasn't wrong to terminate pension benefits to a lawyer who was attempting to amass a combined pension payout of more than $105,000 per year by essentially double-counting 20 years of service at the Cook County State's Attorney's Office to boost his CTA pension

Class action: Equifax 'glitch' docked consumer credit scores, cost consumers loans, higher interest rates

By Jonathan Bilyk |
A class action lawsuit accuses Equifax of violating federal law by providing consumer credit scores to lenders that were allegedly 20-130 points lower than they should have been, due to a "glitch" in Equifax's computer program

Class action: Northwestern Memorial wrongly allowed Facebook's program to track patient information

By Jonathan Bilyk |
The lawsuit concedes Northwestern Memorial Hospital disclosed the use of Facebook's Meta Pixel program to patients signing up to use the hospital's online portal to schedule appointments. But the lawsuit alleges the hospital and Facebook-related companies still violated patient privacy rights

Appeals panel: Feds can't sue Walmart for stopping pregnant workers from taking light duty jobs under injured workers program

By Jonathan Bilyk |
Walmart's Temporary Alternate Duty policy let injured workers that would otherwise qualify for workers' comp transfer to lighter duty jobs while they healed, but didn't open the program to pregnant workers. The EEOC sued, claiming discrimination

Settlement deal: Apple to start charging Chicago streaming tax on nearly all products in Sept.; City to not seek back taxes

By Jonathan Bilyk |
Apple had called the city's so-called "Netflix tax" unconstitutional, but opted to settle its lawsuit in July

State Sen. Hastings sues Frankfort P.D. over domestic abuse report; Cook Co. State's Atty says not representing Hastings

By Jonathan Bilyk |
Former Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Paul Castiglione is representing State Sen. Michael Hastings in suing the village of Frankfort, accusing "someone" at the village of conspiring with Hastings' estranged wife to politically damage Hastings amid contentious election campaign

Appeals court says Pritzker administration can escape fed court oversight of state hiring decisions

By Jonathan Bilyk |
The appeals panel said it is 'not naive' about Illinois' history of corruption, and that courts remain open to future lawsuits, if patronage hiring resumes. But they said federal court oversight of state hiring decisions cannot continue indefinitely.

NorthShore to pay $10M to settle Covid vax mandate lawsuit; Fired workers could get $25K and their jobs back

By Jonathan Bilyk |
The class action lawsuit accused NorthShore University Health System of illegally firing workers who were refused religious exemptions to the hospital system's workplace Covid vaccine mandate

7th Circuit: Title VII sex discrimination employment protections 'drop out' vs religious schools' religious freedoms

By Jonathan Bilyk |
A federal appeals panel said an Indianapolis Catholic high school was within its legal rights under the Constitution and federal law to fire a female guidance counselor and school administrator who married another woman

Appeals panel: Unionized workers can't use IL law to waive employers' arbitration rights in biometric class actions

By Jonathan Bilyk |
A state appeals court says an employer didn't wait too long to use federal labor law to escape workers' class action under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act