Jonathan Bilyk News
Controversial ex-Alabama judge claims Chicago reneged on job offer that led her to resign judgeship
Former Alabama state judge Tracie Todd, who was twice suspended in Alabama for alleged ethics violations, has sued the city of Chicago for allegedly wrongly withdrawing a job offer that she claims led her to resign her judgeship and move to Chicago to be with her husband
BOR Commissioner Steele's ex spokesman says was illegally fired for not helping Steele politically
Frank Calabrese claims Cook County Board of Review Commissioner Samantha Steele and her deputy illegally retaliated against him when he allegedly refused to help her use the Chicago Bears tax appeal to advance herself politically and refused to help her gain control of the BOR
Lawsuit: Northwestern Law School discriminates vs white male faculty in favor of 'mediocre' minority candidates
The lawsuit asserts Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law has for years rejected even highly distinguished white male candidates out of hand, simply because the school's leadership prefers black, female, gay and transgender faculty candidates, even if significantly less accomplished
Supreme Court won't step in - yet - to overturn Illinois 'assault weapons' ban
The U.S. Supreme Court denied petitions from Illinois gun owners to review a Chicago federal appeals court's decision allowing Illinois' controversial gun ban law to take effect. Justice Clarence Thomas, however, called that decision 'nonsensical,' and warned the Illinois law will ultimately face a difficult reception at the high court
Del Galdo accuses Odelson of defamation, interference amid Dolton political dysfunction
Politically connected Del Galdo Law Group has accused prominent municipal law attorney Burt Odelson of making allegedly false statements about their representation of the administration of Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard, leading Dolton's village board to cut off payments to Del Galdo. Odelson represents the Dolton village board
Federal judge tosses suit vs IL Judges Assn accusing judges of creating 'league' to control courts, squelch critics
The Illinois Judges Association said the 'rambling diatribe against the judicial system' can't be heard in federal court. Judicial reform advocate plaintiff Edward "Coach" Weinhaus said the IJA's arguments in their motion to dismiss essentially prove his point. A federal judge agreed, three days after the motion to dismiss was filed
IL Dem Speaker: Courts can't hear GOP challenge to law that would kick Republicans off ballot
Lawyers for Illinois House Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch asked the Illinois Supreme Court to allow Democrats' new law to take effect to strip parties of the power to select candidates after the primary election. They argued state lawmakers can change ballot access rules whenever they like, even amid an election cycle
Hockey coach sues St. Viator HS, says school broke 'handshake deal' for head varsity job
Ex-Stevenson HS junior varsity head hockey coach Ralph Menotti says Saint Viator and its hockey club committed fraud by allegedly verbally offering him the head varsity coach position, only for higher-ups in the club and school to take it back after he had already quit his current job
Cook Co 'assault weapons' ban not constitutional, even under prior appeals court ruling upholding IL gun ban: Filing
Second Amendment rights advocates urged the Seventh Circuit Appeals Court to strike down Cook County's "assault weapons" ban ordinance and overrule their colleagues, saying the ordinance and the decision violate the Constitution and clash with two Supreme Court rulings
Burke sentenced to two years + $2M fine; Sentencing a 'disappointing spectacle,' says BGA
Prosecutors sought 8 years in prison for ex-Chicago Ald. Ed Burke, the highly powerful political figure who was convicted on extortion and political corruption charges in Dec. 2023. Burke held the position of City Council's Finance Chairman for decades, epitomizing political corruption and patronage, according to critics and prosecutors
Skyway operators have overcharged drivers since 2019, class action says
The lawsuit says the Skyway operators have violated their 99-year lease with the city of Chicago and have exceeded even the inflation-adjusted toll increases they have been allowed under the deal, allegedly overcharging motorists by more than $3 million collectively in the past five years
Judge: Lawsuit investor Burford can't stop Pilgrim's Pride from settling Sysco's meat price fixing lawsuits
A Chicago federal judge, who had earlier agreed that lawsuit investor Burford Capital could seize control of food supplier Sysco's legal claims as part of a sprawling antitrust action over meat prices, said meat producer Pilgrim's Pride had an enforceable settlement deal with Sysco, which bound Burford
Appeals panel: Non-Facebook users can't sue Meta for biometric face scans that couldn't ID them
The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed that a San Francisco federal judge wasn't wrong to unplug a lawsuit accusing Facebook-parent Meta of allegedly violating an Illinois biometrics privacy law by using its photo upload system to scan photos for faces, even of non-users
Class action plaintiffs, lawyers could get stake in facial recognition firm Clearview under deal
The "creative" settlement would allow potentially many thousands of class member plaintiffs and their lawyers to scrape together millions of dollars from tech startup Clearview, which was sued for alleged violations of Illinois' biometric privacy law and other privacy statutes
Speaker Welch asks IL high court to toss ruling barring Dems from blocking many GOP candidates from fall ballot
A Springfield judge had ruled Democrats violated the constitutional rights of Republican candidates by passing a law weeks after the primary election barring them from getting on the ballot to challenge Democratic incumbents this fall because they didn't first run in the primary election
'The Village is broke:' Dolton village board lawyer says Dolton may lose insurance coverage soon
An attorney representing Dolton's village board of trustees asserts in an email obtained by The Cook County Record that dysfunction under Mayor Tiffany Henyard has left the village 'at risk of having no liability insurance,' even as the village faces a growing list of lawsuits accusing Henyard and the village of corruption and lawlessness
Ex-Chicago cop sues Kim Foxx, Park Ridge Police for wrongly prosecuting him for detaining suspect who had his kid's bike
Former Chicago Police Sgt. Michael Vitellaro says Park Ridge cops and Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx wrongly prosecuted him after he acted within his lawful authority, capitulating to a public pressure campaign from activists who demanded his arrest for detaining a "young man" who had his son's stolen bike
IL to get $29M from $700M J&J talc settlement deal with states
The settlement will end legal actions launched by 43 states accusing Johnson & Johnson of allegedly misleading consumers about the safety of its talc baby powder and body powder products. The company has denied its products cause cancer, as other plaintiffs have claimed in thousands of other lawsuits
Cook County Judge Flanagan to face investigation over handcuffing of attorney at May hearing
Cook County's courts leadership has asked the state's Judicial Inquiry Board to examine potential disciplinary action against Cook County Circuit Judge Kathy Flanagan for her conduct amid a dispute with a lawyer in her courtroom which resulted in the lawyer being handcuffed to a chair. Flanagan denied wrongdoing
Cook County court data reporting delayed, months behind other state circuit court systems
Court officials provided no reasons were provided for the delay in reporting 2023 data from the famously backlogged court system. The Cook County Circuit Clerk's office said 2023 statistics will be published when court officials can "ensure data is accurate and complies with record keeping standards.