Mauck & Baker
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Appeals court: Rockford nurse can only get $2,500 from her lawsuit win, even though county health department violated her abortion conscience rights
An Illinois appeals panel has ruled a nurse, who left her Winnebago County job because she would not refer females for abortions, did not deserve a larger award in her lawsuit against the county, because judges said she could have accepted a similar county post that did not involve abortion referrals -
Teacher: Suit vs Evanston D65 not to silence speech, but to end 'hostile environment' vs white students, educators
Evanston/Skokie School District 65 says allowing the white middle school teacher's lawsuit to proceed would violate the school district's speech rights. The teacher says the district's 'anti-racist' priorities are illegally hostile toward white students and educators -
Judge will decide if white teacher's lawsuit would violate First Amendment rights of Evanston schools to discuss race
A Chicago federal judge is asking lawyers on both sides of the lawsuit to answer key legal questions in the novel case to help him decide whether the discrimination lawsuit brought against Evanston/Skokie District 65 can continue -
Father, son lose bid to turn suit over CPS Buddhist meditation program into religious freedom class action
Family sued over aspect of 'Quiet Time' program that featured Buddhist transcendental meditation and ran from 2015-2019 in certain Chicago Public Schools. Students were encouraged to participate, and the family said it violated their religious rights -
County health dept owes $374K to lawyers who represented nurse forced from job for refusing to refer abortions
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. -
Teacher seeks to keep up lawsuit claiming Evanston elementary schools are racially hostile to white people
An Evanston middle school teacher has fired back vs an attempt by Evanston/Skokie District 65 to dismiss her lawsuit, which claims anti-racism programs in the district turned the schools into a racially discriminatory hostile work environment targeting white people. -
Evanston school district: White teacher's discrimination suit over anti-racism programs 'blatant' misuse of court
Evanston-Skokie District 65 said the teacher wasn't actually discriminated against, so she can't sue over the school's alleged race-based training programs and curriculum. -
Appeals panel agrees Hobby Lobby improperly denied bathroom access to transgender employee
Human Rights Commission's $220,000 award for emotional distress also upheld, could grow -
Chicago church: Court order still needed to block Pritzker from ever reimposing COVID church worship restrictions
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker says he has no intention to ever restrict church services again, asks court to dismiss a church's long-running legal challenge to his COVID-related authority. -
Judge: No injunction, judgment for crisis pregnancy centers vs Illinois law mandating abortion referrals
U.S. Supreme Court struck down similar law in California in 2018, but judge says Illinois law may survive court challenge arguing it violates the rights of anti-abortion groups and medical professionals by forcing them to refer pregnant women for abortions. -
Supreme Court decision expands civil rights to LGBT people, poses new lawsuit risk to employers, religious orgs
The decision in Bostock v Clayton County could tee up future SCOTUS dates to draw new legal lines between LGBT civil rights and religious freedoms. -
SCOTUS: Pritzker's about-face on restricting worship services allows him to sidestep hearing on COVID church rules
The U.S. Supreme Court has denied two Chicago area churches' reequest for an order declaring Pritzker to have violated the First Amendment in closing churches and limiting the size of in-person worship services amid the COVID-19 pandemic. -
Churches ask SCOTUS to step in, block Pritzker's COVID orders prohibiting in-person church services
Saying they are threatened with "accelerating" enforcement actions against then, two Chicago area churches have petititoned the U.S. Supreme Court to block Gov. JB Pritzker's orders sharply limiting the size of in-person worship services amid the COVID-19 pandemic. -
Churches: Pritzker's COVID worship service limits unconstitutionally single out churches among 'essential' activities
Two Chicago area churches asked a federal appeals court to toss out Gov. JB Pritzker's orders limiting the size of religious gatherings. -
Churches sue Pritzker, say governor's treatment of churches amid COVID-19 an unconstitutional 'sham'
The lawsuit asks for injunctions barring Gov. JB Pritzker from restricting worship services, because the governor's orders violate the Constitution. -
Appeals panel: Civil rights law doesn't let Winnebago Co. avoid nurse's discrimination suit, but job transfer may not violate religious freedom law
The Catholic nurse had sued after the public health department had refused her request to remain in pediatrics to avoid referring patients for abortion or distributing contraceptives. -
Judge says Chicago's Millennium Park speech rules 'chilled' First Amendment-protected religious speech, petition passing rights
“If nothing else at all, the First Amendment protects religious speech and the freedom to petition,” the judge wrote, granting injunction asked by Wheaton students, petition passers -
Appeals court says Elgin didn't 'chill' religious rights of men accused of gang involvement
An Illinois appeals court has upheld a Kane County judge’s judgment the religious freedom of four self-avowed Christian men from Elgin, whom Elgin police accused of gang membership, was not hindered by an injunction the city tried to apply that would have barred them from associating with gang members.