Illinois Fourth District Appellate Court
Recent News About Illinois Fourth District Appellate Court
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Appeals panel: IL constitution doesn't force cities to keep paying retiree health insurance, even if benefit paid to current workers
Neither Illinois’ state constitution nor its insurance laws force cities to pay for retirees’ health insurance premiums, just because the city pays a portion of premiums for current employees. -
Appellate arguments: Cook County wants transportation funding rules reduced to 'mere suggestion'
Cook County wants to 'rewrite' the Illinois state constitution's transportation funding rules, a new appellate brief says. -
'Political questions': Judges duck thorny IL constitutional issues, but how much free rein should IL pols have?
Judges in Illinois have allowed the state government and Cook County avoid challenges to their spending power under the state constitution. But should they have? -
Appeal on tap over judge's decision to end challenge over whether state debt practices are unconstitutional
A state appeals court will be asked to weigh in on the question of whether state courts can have any input at all on the question of whether Illinois’ state constitution puts any constraints at all on state lawmakers who want to rack up debt to cover state expenses. -
Appeals court says IL Auditor Mautino subject to fines for alleged campaign finance violations
An Illinois appeals court ruled the Illinois Board of Elections should consider fining Illinois Auditor General Frank Mautino for alleged campaign finance irregularities, committed while Mautino was a state representative. -
IL Supreme Court: Withdrawal, refiling medmal lawsuit vs hospital OK, even if may be attempt to sidestep judge's order
The Illinois Supreme Court says a man can continue his 10-year-long legal battle against a Decatur hospital, even though the hospital claimed his decision to voluntarily dismiss his suit amounted to a procedural tactic to sidestep a judge's order regarding a witness. -
IL Supreme Court 'ducks,' leaves unanswered whether state constitution's balanced budget rules 'mean anything'
The Illinois Supreme Court’s recent refusal to hear a challenge to a state abortion funding law has raised questions over the court’s willingness to force the state legislature ever to abide by the balanced budget requirements spelled out in the state constitution and Illinois law. -
IL Supreme Court denies abortion funding law challenge; Dissent: 'Political question' claims deserve hearing
A group of abortion foes have lost their bid to undo an Illinois law making all Illinois taxpayers foot the bill for what they say will be tens of thousands of abortions per year, as the Illinois Supreme Court refused to take up the case. Three justices, though, said the majority was wrong to let the state sidestep the challenge so easily. -
Appeals court reverses ruling for ADM in trade secrets violation case vs ex-sweeteners division manager
A former employee of Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), who was sued for violating trade secrets while he operated his new business, has obtained a victory in court. -
IL Supreme Court: Appeals court wrongly let ex-Normal cops off hook in man's lawsuit over murder conviction
The Illinois Supreme Court will allow a man to continue with his lawsuit against a group of downstate police detectives for allegedly helping to lead the effort to wrongly convict him of murder. -
Appeals court: State agency didn't retaliate against woman who posted fliers complaining about staff parking
A state appeals panel has backed a county judge's decision pulling the plug on a lawsuit brought by a state employee who alleged she was retaliated against after posting fliers complaining of the handling of employee parking policies. -
Springfield judge overstepped in OKing landowners' challenge to Ameren power line eminent domain cases: IL Sup Ct
The Supreme Court of Illinois has unanimously yanked the plug on a downstate court’s ruling that found the Illinois Commerce Commission breached due process by not notifying landowners their properties were in the path of proposed power lines, saying the lower court overstepped its authority, although two justices disagreed with the majority’s reasoning, calling it a “threat to individual rights.” -
IL Supreme Court: State law granting hospitals property tax exemption constitutional
Hospitals in Illinois have secured a key win in a longrunning court fight over whether they should be required to pay property taxes, as the Illinois Supreme Court has upheld as constitutional a state law allowing hospitals to remain tax exempt. -
Appeals court OKs IL abortion funding, despite 'problematic' lack of revenue estimate; Appeal to IL Sup Ct vowed
A group of pro-life organizations seeking to undo Illinois legislation mandating taxpayer funding of abortion services has pledged to appeal their case to the Illinois Supreme Court, after a state appeals court opted not to compel the state of Illinois to account for where the money to pay for the abortions would come from. -
Appeals panel undoes $4.6M verdict for man who claimed contracted cancer from asbestos in welding rods
A state appeals panel has overturned a $4.6 million judgment in favor of a man who said he contracted mesothelioma by inhaling asbestos fibers while working near welding rods. -
IL high court: Cities can't sidestep lawsuits by simply calling property repairs 'discretionary'
The Illinois Supreme Court has reduced the reach of the legal shield long enjoyed under Illinois state law by cities and other public bodies when faced with personal injury lawsuits, as the high court indicated the rationale advanced by lower court judges in rejecting a woman’s lawsuit over the injuries she sustained tripping on a Danville sidewalk was overbroad. -
Pro-life lawmakers, groups appeal Springfield judge's refusal to block IL abortion funding law
A group of pro-life Illinois state legislators, anti-abortion organizations and the Springfield Roman Catholic diocese have indicated they will continue their legal fight to stop the state of Illinois from using taxpayer money to fund abortions, filing notices to appeal a Springfield judge’s decision to deny them the injunction they sought to block the state law authorizing public funding for what they estimate could be “tens of thousands” of abortions each year. -
Appeals panel nixes coroner's report as evidence in medical malpractice, wrongful death suit
A Downstate appellate court has backed a Champaign County judge's decisions in a medical malpractice trial involving a woman's death, which ended with a verdict against plaintiff, saying the judge was right to bar some of plaintiff's evidence, including a coroner's report and death certificate. -
NorthShore asks court to slice class action demanding IL hospitals repay for improper tax exemptions
Saying the basis for the suit has been amputated by Illinois’ highest court, NorthShore University Health System is asking a Cook County judge to dismiss a class-action suit, which demanded hospitals be made to pay back Illinois property taxpayers who have allegedly overpaid because, the plaintiffs allege, the state’s hospitals have wrongly enjoyed tax-exempt status. -
Appeals panel: State agencies can't hire own lawyers when disagree with Atty Gen's legal strategies
A state appeals panel has refused to allow a state agency, under the supervision of Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, to hire its own legal representation amid a conflict with Democratic Attorney General Lisa Madigan over legal strategy in defending against workers compensation claims brought by an independent personal assistant for those with disabilities who claimed she should be treated as a state employee after the state empowered a union to represent her.