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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IL Supreme Court begins process of removing Cook County judge convicted of mortgage fraud
The state’s highest court has ordered a Cook County judge convicted of mortgage fraud to present the court with reasons why the state should not yank her license to practice law and should not bar her from continuing to hold office as a judge. -
Former Chicago Spire developer demands Irish banking agency pay $1.2B for torpedoing skyscraper project
A real estate development firm that had traveled the world, selling the idea of luxury condos high above downtown Chicago in what was to be one of the biggest additions to Chicago’s iconic skyline in decades, is now asking a federal judge in Chicago to order a publicly-funded Irish national banking agency to pay out $1.2 billion for allegedly torpedoing the planned Chicago Spire project out of “bad blood” and “spite,” leaving Irish taxpayers holding the bag and a giant hole in the ground in Chicago. -
Class action: Aurora volleyball program owes millions for not stopping alleged sexually abusive coach
An Aurora-based club volleyball program headed by prominent coach Rick Butler, who has been accused of years of sexual abuse, threats and intimidation against his players, is the target of a multimillion-dollar federal class action complaint alleging the club failed to protect its athletes. -
Judge OKs arbitration for fight vs Lyft by drivers fired after reporting other drivers' harassment
A federal judge has dispatched to arbitration a lawsuit brought against ride-hailing service Lyft by a group of former drivers who claim other drivers harassed and intimidated them, leading to retaliation and termination from Lyft when they filed police reports. -
Wheaton College wins order vs Obamacare contraceptive mandate; Judge: Violates religious freedom
In the wake of a decision by the administration of President Donald Trump to reinterpret federal health regulations requiring religious employers to pay for contraceptive health insurance coverage, a federal judge has granted Wheaton College a permanent injunction barring the federal government from forcing the prominent evangelical Christian college in Chicago’s western suburbs from having to pay for its employees’ contraception, which the college had argued would violate its religious rights. -
Union lawsuit: If union can't force non-union workers to pay, also can't be forced to represent them
In advance of what they expect to be a stinging defeat for labor unions at the U.S. Supreme Court, a prominent Illinois union has countered with a suit of its own, claiming, if the court finds unions can be barred from forcing non-union workers to pay fees to the union for collective bargaining, so, too, the unions can’t be forced to include those workers in the deals they cut with government officials. -
Federal judge keeps wrongful termination case against Cook County Sheriff alive
A federal judge has allowed a former Cook County correctional officer to continue his suit accusing Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart of firing him in retaliation for supporting a political opponent of the sheriff. The judge, however, dismissed a number of other defendants within the sheriff's office from the case. -
Union member sues Lincolnshire, says village can't support group that lobbied for Rauner reform agenda
As the U.S. Supreme Court prepared to hear arguments on the question of whether state rules requiring non-union workers pay fees to unions violate the Constitution, a union member in suburban Lincolnshire has sued his village government, demanding the court declare the rights of union members have been similarly violated by local governments which use taxpayer money to fund lobbyists to seek reforms opposed by unions. -
Judge lets malpractice suit vs LeClair Ryan continue, says could be on hook for client's $9M settlement
A Chicago federal judge has refused to toss a legal malpractice suit lodged by the owner of a suburban electronics company against a Virginia law firm, saying the company has plausibly claimed the lawyers’ alleged missteps caused the company to pay out a $9 million settlement. -
Appeals court tacks on sanctions for construction firm's 'frivolous' appeal of unpaid wages order
A federal appeals court in Chicago has slapped a construction company with sanctions, including ordering it to pay the legal bills for one of its former workers, for sending to the court a “patently frivolous” appeal of a lower court’s order in favor of three men who claimed the company had wrongly attempted to deny them pay and had wrongly classified at least one of them as an independent contractor. -
Another class action claims McDonald's could open restaurants to visually impaired at night, but chooses not to
McDonald’s is facing another federal class action complaint from customers who say the restaurant denies people with visual impairments equal access during late night, drive-through-only hours. -
Appeals court pauses judge's order forcing Cook courts clerk to let public immediately access lawsuits
A federal appeals court in Chicago has slapped a hold on a federal judge’s order to force Cook County’s courts clerk to begin providing the press and public immediate access to publicly filed court documents, at least until the appellate judges can rule on the court clerk’s claims that the federal judge had no business issuing the order, on the grounds of protecting the public’s First Amendment rights to public information. -
Judge deletes class action vs Yahoo over Messenger texts, says 'tens of thousands' may have consented
A federal judge has broken up a class action accusing Yahoo of sending text messages in violation of federal law, saying information provided after he certified the class indicated perhaps tens of thousands of class members may have actually consented to receive the texts when they signed up for Yahoo’s services. -
Jury convicts Cook County judge of mortgage fraud, could face 30 year prison sentence
A federal jury in Chicago has convicted a Cook County judge of mortgage fraud stemming from an alleged scheme in which prosecutors said she participated a few years before she was elected to the Cook County bench. -
Judge asked to OK final $295M deal to end Stericycle price hike class action; lawyers request $42M
A federal judge has been asked to grant final approval to a $295 million settlement deal ending a multi-state class action lawsuit accusing medical waste disposal company Stericycle of fixing prices for its “small quantity” customers under an automatic price increase policy. -
Cook Courts Clerk appeal: Federal judge wrongly stepped into dispute over public access to court files
Moments after a Chicago federal judge chided her for creating a system designed to take an “end-run” around the First Amendment’s guarantee of public access to public information, the clerk of Cook County’s courts has asked a federal appeals court to put a hold on the judge's order and further remove the matter from the judge’s consideration entirely. -
Lawsuit: Woman fired for drawing attention to scheme allowing RR Donnelley to short USPS millions
A woman who says she was terminated for calling to attention her former employer’s scheme to underpay postage by nearly $20 million has filed suit against Chicago-based printer and mass marketer RR Donnelley. -
Judge: Public access to court documents not a 'frill' of court system; denies court clerk's request for delay
Saying public access to publicly-filed legal documents is not “some sort of frill” feature of a modern court system, a Chicago federal judge has denied a request from the Cook County court clerk’s office for more time to comply with the judge’s order to begin providing immediate access to all electronically filed lawsuits filed in her office. -
Accessibility suit vs Kohl’s can proceed; Judge: Moveable displays can be 'architectural barriers'
A woman may proceed with her lawsuit claiming the layout of a Kohl’s store makes the store inaccessible to people with disabilities. -
Former manager’s age discrimination suit against Ashley Furniture dismissed, for now
Ashley Furniture has won a round in one of the lawsuits filed against it for allegedly discriminating against older managers in a bid to hire "millennials," as a federal judge has dismissed, for now, a former manager’s age discrimination lawsuit because the judge determined the man had failed to properly name his employer in a discrimination claim filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).