Jonathan Bilyk News
IL 'assault weapons' ban challengers ask SCOTUS to step into constitutional court fight, block gun ban
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett directed the state to respond to the petitioners' assertions that, not only is the law unconstitutional, but federal judges in Chicago have twisted SCOTUS rulings to say the state is clearly allowed to ban "dangerous" weapons that aren't protected by the Second Amendment
IL Supreme Court says hospitals can't be sued for requiring nurses to scan fingerprints when dispensing patient medicines
The unanimous ruling said a HIPAA-specific exemption protects Illinois hospitals and health care equipment maker Becton Dickinson from a specific group of potentially catastrophic class action lawsuits under Illinois' biometrics privacy law
Class action demands IL counties pay back people whose homes were seized over unpaid property taxes
The lawsuit vs DuPage, Lake, Kane, Will and other populous counties says Illinois counties still using tax sales to seize and sell off homes to settle delinquent property taxes are defying the Constitution and the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled such "equity theft" unconstitutional
Hinsdale South star basketball player sues D86, says was cut for complaining about ex-head coach's verbal abuse of players
The federal lawsuit vs Hinsdale District 86 and varsity basketball coach Michael Belcaster accuses the coach of illegally retaliating against the All-Conference player after he filed a complaint with the school about ex-head coach Michael Moretti's alleged verbal abuse and bullying of players. The lawsuit says D86 has turned a blind eye since
Campaign committee created to smear GOP IL Supreme Court candidates hit with big campaign finance fine
The Illinois State Board of Elections says the All for Justice campaign committee, led by lawyer Luke Casson, a prominent ally of State Sen. President Don Harmon, must pay $99,500 for failing to report spending on time during the 2022 election campaign, when it spent millions to elect IL Supreme Court justices Rochford and O'Brien
2nd Amend rights groups ask full appeals court to reconsider order upholding IL gun ban
With weeks left before Illinois' "assault weapons" registration deadline, Illinois gun owners and Second Amendment rights groups have asked the Seventh Circuit to undo a panel's ruling that Illinois is OK to ban 'military-grade' guns, because they're 'dangerous'
Thousands of hair relaxer lawsuits OK to continue vs L'Oreal, Revlon, other cosmetic companies
The lawsuits assert the companies knew or should have known their products allegedly caused uterine and ovarian cancer in the Black women who used them since the 1970s to "conform to Eurocentric beauty standards"
Big money biometrics privacy class actions enriching handful of lawyers at expense of IL economy, new report claims
A report from the Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse of Illinois says seven plaintiffs' class action firms account for nearly 70% of all class actions active in Chicago area courts under the stringent Biometric Information Privacy Act, commonly known as BIPA
IL gun ban foes ask SCOTUS to review IL Sup Ct ruling; Petition says two Dem justices who refused recusal defied high court
State Rep. Dan Caulkins and other gun owners from Macon County say the U.S. Supreme Court needs to undo the Illinois high court's ruling on the "assault weapons" ban, because they could not receive a fair hearing when two justices, who already were endorsed by anti-gun groups, got millions of campaign cash from Gov. Pritzker
'Speech code': Proposed new IL rule would rewrite why and how lawyers can be punished for 'discrimination'
Supporters say rule change needed to prevent "harassment" and discrimination. Opponents say it would empower state regulators to discriminate against lawyers who express political and social opinions disfavored by Illinois' dominant progressives
'A hostile place:' Employers in Chicago and beyond face sweeping lawsuit risk under Chicago PTO rules
'Progressive' supporters cheered passage of the ordinance, which guarantees all workers 10 paid days off every year. Business groups said it will expose any employer, anywhere, who sends workers into Chicago to potential risk of lawsuits if they don't comply with the ordinance
Salvi Schostok seeks to defend its legal fees from cases it took amid Wise Morrissey court spat
The lawsuit asserts the now defunct Wise Morrissey firm is demanding up to half of fees the Salvi Schostok firm may earn from 21 medmal cases that migrated to the Salvi firm amid the public fallout between the WM firm's principals earlier in 2023.
CTA worker can sue agency for religious discrimination under Covid vax mandate: Judge
Ruling marks second time judge says Chicago Transit Authority can be sued for violating religious freedom protections under state and federal law by firing workers who voiced religious objections to its Covid vaccine mandate
Verizon, AT&T customers can keep up suit vs T-Mobile, claiming Sprint merger raised their rates
A judge said plaintiffs had done enough to establish a "reasonable inference" that the T-Mobile/Sprint merger had created "anticompetitive effects" that boosted everyone's bills
IL OK to ban 'assault weapons,' so long as state says those guns are 'dangerous' and too similar to 'military' weapons: Appeals court
A 2-1 panel of the Seventh Circuit Appeals Court in Chicago refused to block Illinois' 'assault weapons' ban from being enforced. A dissenting judge said the ruling conflicts with SCOTUS rulings, and effectively subjects Americans' Second Amendment rights to a 'military veto'
Jury says Conagra should pay $7M to Penn woman injured by exploded can of spray cooking oil
The verdict ended the first of potentially five dozen trials all accusing packaged food company Conagra of negligence for designing cans of Pam and private label brand spray cooking oil that were allegedly more likely to explode when exposed to heat. The company said those cans "have not been available for more than four years."
Judge says anyone who ever spoke to Alexa device in IL could be included in huge biometrics class action vs Amazon
A federal judge says neither Amazon's user agreement - which warns users their voices will be recorded - nor Amazon's inability to identify a non-user's voice can defeat a class action under Illinois' biometrics law accusing Alexa of improperly "learning" users' voices
Medline nearing deal to settle EtO lawsuits, but accuses insurers of standing in the way
Medline has been hit with numerous lawsuits accusing the company of emitting too much EtO, which the lawsuits allege increased cancer risk among those living nearby, since 2019, and claims it has reached a settlement through mediation with attorneys from the firm of Edelson P.C., which is representing the 'vast majority' of plaintiffs
In-truck driver monitoring camera tech maker Nauto hit with class action over driver face scans
The lawsuit vs the tech vendor comes as the same lawyers are bringing potentially costly class actions over similar accusations against the trucking companies that use such technology to monitor their drivers for drowsiness, distracted driving and other poor driving behaviors
Appeals panel: JAMA doesn't need to give trial lawyers emails about spiked Zantac study article
Illinois appellate judges ruled a man who is suing GSK over alleged Zantac cancer link can't sidestep Illinois' reporter's privilege to force the Journal of the American Medical Association to reveal the identity of a government official who communicated with JAMA editors before they spiked a story on a Zantac cancer study in 2020