News from October 2021
Lawyers ask judge to OK $68M fees for work landing $181M chicken price class action settlement
It remains unclear how much consumers might get as a share of $111 million remaining in the settlement funds after lawyers and settlement administrators are paid.
Pritzker asks IL Supreme Court to send all school mask lawsuits to Cook County or Sangamon court
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, on behalf of Gov. JB Pritzker, filed a motion with the Illinois Supreme Court to consolidate and transfer several different cases, including a massive class action involving hundreds of parents and students vs 145 school districts, over Pritzker's school mask orders.
Illinois Supreme Court halts school districts' request for billions of extra state dollars into public education
Panel said granting request would violate separation of powers clause
IL Dems revise Conscience Act, but say they're not, in 'implicit recognition' law protected vax mandate objectors
Courts will ultimately be left to unravel whether the Democrats' "declaration of existing law" should now allow the state and employers to enforce vaccine mandates against religious objectors, when courts have been skeptical, at best.
Reed Smith adds partner and counsel to growing powerhouse advertising, brand, data protection, and privacy practice in Chicago
Reed Smith adds partner and counsel to growing powerhouse advertising, brand, data protection, and privacy practice in Chicago.
'Trying to thread a needle': Changes to IL Right of Conscience law intended to 'provide cover' for Pritzker administration, lawyer says
Downstate attorney Tom Devore, who is behind a barrage of lawsuits vs Gov. JB Pritzker and others, says proposed changes to the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act are an 'absurd' attempt to legally justify past actions by Pritzker related to COVID vaccine mandates and COVID-related restrictions.
Lawsuit claims NorthShore Health System using vax mandate to "purge" unvaccinated religious objectors from payroll
A class action lawsuit in federal court claims NorthShore is illegally discriminating against religious employees who object to COVID vaccines, violating their rights to religious exemptions under state and federal law.
2021 Construction Law Summit on October 28, 2021
2021 Construction Law Summit on October 28, 2021.
Metra says judge was off track in ruling Union Pacific can cease northwest suburban Chicago commuter trains
Metra wants to derail a judge's ruling that Union Pacific does not have to run commuter lines in northwest Chicago, arguing the judge committed a "manifest injustice" in refusing to consider the railroad was contractually obligated to keep operating the service.
IL Dems to strip any potential for vax mandate protection from IL Health Care Right of Conscience law
Gov. JB Pritzker and others have argued the law was never intended to protect anyone other than doctors, and certainly not people objecting to being forced to take COVID vaccines
Legal Ethics Roundup 2021: Latest Developments Every Attorney Should Know on October 27, 2021
Legal Ethics Roundup 2021: Latest Developments Every Attorney Should Know on October 27, 2021.
Husch Blackwell Welcomes Dan Avants to Healthcare Team
Husch Blackwell Welcomes Dan Avants to Healthcare Team.
CGCC Chicago 2021 Annual Gala & Manufacturing Summit
CGCC Chicago 2021 Annual Gala & Manufacturing Summit.
Lawsuits: Financier middlemen for alleged $600M+ Hollywood film licensing Ponzi scheme should pay up
Two Cook County lawsuits say Chicago-based finance pros didn't do enough to uncover the truth behind a massive film licensing Ponzi scheme launched by their college actor friend
Chicago firefighters sue to block Lightfoot, Pritzker COVID vax mandates
A group of Chicago firefighters have filed suit in federal court, arguing COVID vaccine mandates imposed by Gov. JB Pritzker and Mayor Lori Lightfoot are unconstitutional.
Cook County gun, ammo taxes unconstitutional, IL Supreme Court says
The taxes violate a section of the Illinois state constitution governing how taxes can be enacted, and for what purposes, the state high court ruled, sidestepping arguments over whether the taxes violated the right to keep and bear arms.
Hutsonville school district on 'probation' for not complying with mask mandate wins TRO for student athletes
For the time being, a tiny school district in south central Illinois with a population of approximately 350 K-12 students has prevailed in its challenge to the goliath state.
Massive parents' class action says Pritzker, schools overstepped authority by imposing mask, COVID quarantine rules
The lawsuit targets Gov. JB Pritzker, as well as nearly 150 school districts statewide, including at least 69 districts from throughout the Chicago area.
Illinois Supreme Court Appoints Tracie Porter As at-large Circuit Judge of Cook County
Illinois Supreme Court Appoints Tracie Porter As at-large Circuit Judge of Cook County.
Judges: Democrats' June state district maps unconstitutional; New September maps still under review
A panel of federal judges said Democrats' decision to use "population estimates," rather than Census data resulted in unbalanced districts, under a plan rushed through simply to retain firm grip on power