Illinois General Assembly
State Government: Elected Officials | State Legislative Bodies
Recent News About Illinois General Assembly
-
IL Supreme Court: No actual harm needed to sue businesses for scanning fingerprints, other biometric IDs
The Illinois Supreme Court says an Illinois privacy law doesn’t require plaintiffs to prove they were actually harmed before suing businesses and others who scan and store their fingerprints or other so-called biometric identifiers. And the decision will give a green light to dozens of class action lawsuits already pending against businesses of all sizes in the state’s courts, with even more likely to follow. -
Amicus briefs touting, opposing Obama Center Jackson Park plan stoke court fight
With the fate of the legal challenge to the Obama Presidential Center's Jackson Park proposal at stake, scholars and others have field briefs, either lauding the benefits of the museum plan, or arguing the project demands more scrutiny, particularly given the cozy relationship between Obama and Chicago city officials, including Mayor Rahm Emanuel. -
Power generators ask SCOTUS to overturn Illinois 'Zero Emissions Credit' subsidies for Exelon nuke power plants
A group of electrical power generators have asked the U.S. Supreme Court step in and unplug “zero emissions credit” subsidy programs in Illinois and elsewhere, arguing the state programs intrude on federal regulatory turf and unconstitutionally rig wholesale electricity generation and supply markets to prop up nuclear power plants that should otherwise be retired. -
Appeals judges extinguish tobacco dealers' challenge to Chicago city tax on non-cigarette tobacco items
A state appeals court has snuffed out much of a lawsuit challenging the right of Chicago City Hall to slap a tax on non-cigarette tobacco products, saying a Cook County judge was wrong to find a state law prevents the city from doing so. -
Cook County Public Guardian lawsuit says IL DCFS keeps kids detained in state psych facilities too long
The Cook County Public Guardian has filed a class action complaint against the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services over the agency’s treatment of children at state psychiatric facilities. -
Federal appeals judges: 'Politics in politics' did not violate rights of GOP state senator who challenged Rauner
The U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals determined Illinois Senate Republican leaders didn’t violate a caucus member’s rights by stripping him of duties after he mounted a third-party gubernatorial challenge. -
House override spikes Court of Claims cap from $100,000 to $2 million
SPRINGFIELD — Gov. Bruce Rauner's veto of a bill that raised the award cap from $100,000 to $2 million for tort cases against the state that are litigated in the Illinois Court of Claims has been overridden. -
With Pritzker backing idea, prospect of legal marijuana should prompt IL cities, others to prepare: Attorney
While Gov.-elect J.B. Pritzker likely may face opposition against his campaign promise push for legalized recreational marijuana, the transition to full legalization may occur more seamlessly than some may think, an attorney says. -
With Democratic lock on IL government, 'new wave' of regulation, enforcement, litigation 'likely': Attorneys
Democrats have grabbed a stranglehold on Illinois state government. And that could mean businesses and employers of all sizes should begin to prepare for a new pro-labor, pro-plaintiffs environment of anticipated heightened government scrutiny, regulatory action and lawsuits, say attorneys who regularly work with businesses and employers facing such actions. -
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.” -
School district lawsuit: Sears owes millions in taxes for laying off too many workers, breaching state deal
As Sears heads into bankruptcy, a northwest suburban school district is suing the retailer and the village of Hoffman Estates in hopes of recapturing property tax dollars it says were diverted to the retail giant in recent years, because it says layoffs at Sears invalidated a state economic development agreement. -
Choosing a hat: Proposal seeks to ease home closing costs by rewriting rules for IL lawyers who sell title insurance
A new legislative proposal would force real estate lawyers in Illinois who also serve as title insurance agents to 'choose which hat they will wear' in a home sale transaction, in a bid to reduce the typical closing costs paid by Illinois homeowners, and bring those costs more in line with the national average. But the proposal has drawn fire from lawyers and their associations, accusing supporters of the bill of unfairly 'scapegoating' lawyers for Illinois' relatively more expensive title insurance costs. -
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: IL law OK letting committees controlled by legislative leaders give unlimited campaign cash
Brushing aside assertions the law allows party leaders to consolidate power statewide, a federal appeals panel has upheld an Illinois campaign finance law which restricts what individual donors can give to political campaigns, while allowing unlimited contributions from legislative caucus committees controlled by partisan leaders within the state's House and Senate. -
Lawsuit: 'Level playing field' in Illinois election campaign spending for independent advocacy groups
Dan Proft and a conservative Illinois political advocacy group are asking a federal judge to strike down certain campaign contribution limits. -
Judge: IL state agency overreached in prosecuting property tax lawyers for using comps in tax appeals
State bureaucrats who regulate real estate appraisers in Illinois have no authority to prosecute property tax lawyers, a Cook County judge has ruled, finding regulators overreached in claiming lawyers violated state appraiser licensing rules by using comparable property values to argue for a lower tax assessment for thieir clients. -
Judge: Report on Madigan clout stays under wraps, not relevant to ex-candidate's suit vs Speaker
A Chicago federal judge has refused to allow attorneys for a failed primary challenger to Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan the chance to obtain a copy of a 2014 inspector general’s report detailing the ways Madigan wields clout and influence in Illinois, saying the contents of the report would be of no value to the ex-candidate’s lawsuit accusing Madigan of pulling strings and using underhanded tactics to undercut his candidacy. -
George Mason professor: ERA might do less today than a decade ago, may not be eligible to be added to Constitution
A George Mason University professor believes that if the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) were to be enacted today, it would do less than it would have nearly a decade ago, thanks to the continuing expansion of civil rights, particularly for those identifying as LGBTQ. -
Cook County, road builders tussle over home rule, control of county's 'transportation' money
With about a quarter of a billion dollars on the line in what the county calls a “test case” that could affect cities and counties across Illinois, Cook County has squared off in court against a coalition of trade groups representing road builders, as the two sides have asked a judge to decide whether a new Illinois state constitutional amendment negates the county’s authority to decide how to apportion its transportation tax dollars.