Stories by Laura Halleman on Cook County Record

A Chicago federal judge has found United Airlines didn't discriminate against an African-American former employee who sued the company after he was fired for allegedly taking food from an airplane during a layover.

Legislation that would have made it less risky for employers to hire ex-offenders is now delayed in the Illinois House of Representatives.

On July 1, Cook County's new mandatory paid sick leave ordinance will take effect. And employers would do well to learn if the ordinance will apply to them and to acquaint themselves with the "burdensome" rules, which were released to the public May 25, that the county will use to guide the implementation and enforcement of the ordinance.

A Cook County judge who for months refused to show up for duty in traffic court has resigned.

Eighteen Illinois women’s health organizations have sued the state of Illinois and Gov. Bruce Rauner over a new law that forces pro-life doctors and pregnancy resource centers to discuss abortion benefits and to refer pregnant women for abortions despite the medical providers' opposition to the procedure.

The U.S. Supreme Court will get the chance to decide how much fees public-worker unions in Illinois can take from non-union workers. And if it decides to hear arguments on a challenge to the fees originally introduced by Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner, it could mean the court is poised to overturn the longstanding legal precedent allowing the unions to exact the payments from non-members.

Illinois Realtors, a real estate advocacy group, has stepped out to oppose Illinois state legislation to repeal the state's Rent Control Preemption Act, a 1997 law prohibiting cities and other local governments from enacting rent control measures.

The Illinois First District Appellate Court upheld a decision of the Illinois Education Labor Relations Board, which had ruled Moraine Valley Community College had violated labor relations rules when it fired an adjunct faculty member who criticized the college in a letter to an organization that was reviewing the school.

Chicago-based Presence Health has become the first health care organization penalized for not reporting a HIPAA privacy breach within a 60-day window, as federal regulators slapped the operator of 11 Illinois hospitals with a $475,000 fine. And it could signal greater enforcement actions to come, said an attorney who works with other health care organizations.

Less than a year after federal regulators established new rules under the federal Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), a whistleblower suit has been filed by an employee of Mead Johnson Nutrition Company, potentially signaling more attention for that company and others under the FSMA.

A former employee of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) is suing the group, alleging collusion with survivors' attorneys - charges the group denies.