U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
Recent News About U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
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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. -
Appeals court: IL doesn’t usurp feds’ power by making coal, gas burners subsidize Illinois nuke plants
A federal appellate court has affirmed a Chicago federal judge’s ruling that switched off suits by a group of electricity producers and Chicago-area power consumers, which sought to invalidate a state law requiring coal and gas burning electricity companies buy credits to prop up two failing Exelon nuclear plants, saying the law doesn’t infringe on federal regulatory prerogatives. -
Judge: City Colleges did not disciminate against female professor who made students buy her book
A federal judge has granted judgment to The City Colleges of Chicago in a lawsuit brought by a professor who alleged she was fired because of her gender, but who the school says was terminated, in part, for her decision to require students to buy a book she had edited and published. -
Suburbs' lawyers: Cities' suit vs opioid makers, distributors belongs in Cook court, not federal 'black hole'
Attorneys for a group of Illinois municipalities are fighting an attempt to combine their lawsuit against opioid manufacturers and distributors with a mass of similar litigation already pending in Cleveland federal court. -
Obama Center opponents say City Hall misled judge over track demolition, tree clearing in Jackson Park
Saying lawyers for the city of Chicago misled a judge, a group opposed to the development of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago’s Jackson Park have asked a federal judge to slap a hold on any further city work in the park while a lawsuit to block the Obama Center project continues. -
American Airlines bounced, for now, from class action over alleged sickening uniforms
A federal judge has dismissed American Airlines, for now, from a 2017 class action complaint in which employees complained new uniforms made them sick. -
Wheaton College asks court to order U.S. to pay its $1.2M legal bills in Obamacare religious freedom case
After obtaining a victory against the federal government over the question of whether the so-called contraceptive mandate violates its religious freedom, Wheaton College is asking a federal judge to order the government to pay its $1.2 million legal bills in the case. -
Judge deletes attempt by attorney to press defamation suit vs those posting online reviews of his business
A Chicago federal judge has shut down an attempt by an attorney to sue those who supposedly defamed him in online postings on Yelp and other forums. -
Anti-union IL state worker asks judge to let him defend state vs union attempt to 'discriminate' vs non-union workers
Saying Illinois’ attorney general’s defense is “inadequate” and is “bordering on malpractice,” an Illinois state employee who factored in the court action that led to the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision to strike down rules requiring non-union workers to pay fees to unions has again jumped into a federal court action, this time asking a judge to allow his legal team to defend the state against a union’s attempt to secure a court order striking down labor laws requiring them to represent all workers in a collective bargaining unit. -
Cook County judge convicted of bank fraud resigns, after federal judge refuses new trial
A Cook County judge convicted of bank fraud has resigned her position, after a Chicago federal judge refused her requests to overturn the conviction and give her a new trial. -
Judge slashes ‘grossly excessive’ attorney’s fees in class action settlement
A federal judge gave a blistering condemnation of Chicago class action attorney Joseph Siprut’s request for fees in a settlement in which he had requested more than $2 million for obtaining class members settlements around $95 each. -
Judge backs recused judge's decision to OK loan officers' wage class action vs American Bank & Trust
A federal judge has confirmed another recused judge's decision earlier this spring to refuse to end a class action brought by a group of bank loan officers, who accused their employer, American Bank and Trust, of shorting them wages and commissions. -
Judge: Settlement talks begun in mass action vs Abbvie, others over Androgel, testosterone drugs
A federal judge has put a hold on any further proceedings in the massive, years-long nationwide legal action against Abbvie and other makers of so-called testosterone replacement therapy drugs, saying he wants to give both sides time to complete a potential settlement drug to permanently end the litigation. -
Chase to pay $19M to settle black financial advisors' suit alleging denied opportunities; lawyers to claim $5.5M
JP Morgan Chase Bank has agreed to pay more than $19.5 million to settle a class action suit brought in Chicago federal court by several of its employees, who alleged the banking giant assigned its black and African-American financial advisors to less profitable locations and denied them other opportunities to get ahead, because of their race. -
Judges nix consumer antitrust vs steelmakers; Production chain too complex to undergird sprawling class action
While noting the plaintiffs had presented statements which could indicate price-fixing activity, a federal appeals panel has refused to melt down a lower court’s decision to slice up a potentially massive class action lawsuit accusing U.S. steelmakers of conspiring to jack up prices for raw steel. -
Judge OKs $6.6M deal to end class action vs CHA over tenant utility fees; lawyers get $1.3M
A federal judge has signed off on a $6 million deal to end a class action accusing the Chicago Housing Authority of improperly estimating utility fees. -
Bandas firm offers to be barred from practicing law in IL to end Edelson suit over 'serial objectors'
A Texas-based law firm accused of improperly using proxy Illinois attorneys to covertly manage lawsuits in Illinois intended to allegedly essentially extort payments from other lawyers trying to close out class action settlements, has agreed to accept a court order barring them from practicing law in Illinois. -
Court-appointed federal monitor: Oversight of Cook County hiring practices no longer needed
A court-appointed monitor of Cook County patronage is asking a federal judge to release her from her oversight duties, saying she believes the county’s government has undergone “profound transformation” in its employment practices and has a culture in place to keep politics from unduly influencing who gets county jobs and who doesn’t. -
Judge: Union largely within free speech rights to target Ameristar Casino patrons over boycott
A federal judge in Chicago has weighed in again on the issue of whether workers at Indiana’s Ameristar Casino put undue pressure on patrons as part of an ongoing dispute, dismissing more allegations a union illegally harassed casino patrons to coerce them to participate in a union-sponsored boycott as part of a labor dispute with the casino. -
Judge denies Chicago Fraternal Order of Police request to join lawsuit on police reform
A federal judge has denied a motion brought by the union representing Chicago's police officers to intervene as a party in litigation, in an attempt to limit the scope of a settlement agreement between the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago mandating reforms for the Chicago Police Department, to address allegations officers discriminate against African American and Latino city residents.