A federal judge has ordered Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough to hand over more documents related to allegations she packed her office with politically-connected workers, but refused to sanction Yarbrough for what a political watchdog claimed is her effort to hide her alleged shenanigans.
The hearing board said it doesn't matter she's used her maiden name when practicing law or running for other offices. The objector has sought judicial review of that decision.
A contentious divorce case involving a lawyer who represents the town of Cicero and a host of other local governments in Chicago’s suburbs has produced a pitched courtroom battle over his estranged wife’s efforts to reveal who pays him, how much he earns and the depth of his purported links to Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and other prominent Democratic lawmakers, and other influential figures in Illinois government.
Powerful Chicago Ald. Ed Burke was indicted Thursday on a charge of attempting to shake down the owner of a Chicago fast food restaurant seeking to renovate their establishment. And at the center of the charge stands Burke's law firm, which has built a huge business specializing in appealing property tax assessments.
Amid a night of historic domination at the polls, Democrats also largely swept once more in the races for judges in Cook County’s courts, flexing their muscle not only in contested races, but also in withdrawing support from a Democratic judge and former prosecutor, who, after being targeted by a coalition of social justice advocates, became the first county judge in nearly three decades to lose his bid for retention to the bench.
A state appellate court has again ruled Cook County has the power to make ethics rules that apply to county officers, including the Cook County Assessor, this time finding the County Board did not overstep in prohibiting real estate lawyers and otheers from contributing to the campaign coffers of county officials when they are seeking “official action” from the county.
Amid competitive races for governor and elsewhere on the ballot, Cook County voters also took to the polls to select permanent replacements for 10 vacant Cook County Circuit Court judgeships and 25 open posts on the county’s various judicial subcircuits, as voters cast ballots in the county’s primary election on Tuesday, March 20.
Two organizations whose mission is to help homeowners in two predominantly minority and economically struggling Chicago neighborhoods have filed suit against the office of Cook County Assessor Joseph Berrios, asserting the office’s assessment practices have discriminated against Hispanic and black homeowners by under-assessing properties in wealthier and whiter neighborhoods and communities, pushing a greater tax burden on those with less means to legally protect themselves.
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan's sudden announcement earlier this year declining to seek another term has led to an avalanche of candidates announcing intentions to run on the Democratic side, while Republican Erika Harold remains unchallenged in seeking her party's nomination.
A Democrat running to unseat incumbent Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios has asked a court to help him unmask the people he claims are responsible for creating sham websites and social media pages for his campaign.
Faced with the possibility the class action lawsuit could be transferred to a court more than 2,000 miles away in the Pacific Northwest, the lawyers suing online attorney directory Avvo have swapped in a different Chicago attorney, who also is the son of a once-powerful Chicago alderman, to replace the original named plaintiff, whose history with Avvo could have triggered provisions in Avvo’s user agreement, which could have kicked the case to a federal court in Seattle.
Cook County Assessor Joseph Berrios, who also serves as chairman of the Cook County Democratic Party, has lost another round in court in his attempt to avoid turning over documents demanded by the county’s Inspector General as part of the IG’s investigation of allegations Berrios’ office improperly granted an assessor’s office employee a special property tax exemption.
The Democratic Party of Cook County has endorsed its candidates for the judicial benches in the Cook County Circuit Court and Illinois First District Appellate Court, and party officials said they believe the "diverse" group represents the region well.
Cook County’s circuit judges have selected 13 new associates judges, one of whom secured enough votes to win as write-in candidate, the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts announced today.
Lyle SwansonUnlike most of the winners in Tuesday’s primary election, almost all of the victors of Cook County’s judicial races can call it quits on campaigning.As several of the nearly two dozen judicial races were uncontested in the primary and only one has opposition from the other political party, Tuesday’s election served as main show for candidates as it picked the presumptive winners of the
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