Reform News

Reform

IL Supreme Court to decide if taxpayer can sue state over constitutionality of $14B bond issues

The Illinois Supreme Court granted the Illinois Attorney General's petition to appeal a lower court's ruling that a taxpayer should be allowed to move ahead with a lawsuit accusing state lawmakers of borrowing $14 billion to pay pensions and overdue bills in violation of state constitutional limits.
By Jonathan Bilyk |
Reform

Cook County courts, with Madison, St. Clair, land top spots on list of U.S. 'judicial hellholes'

A blizzard of class actions under Illinois' biometrics privacy law, plus sustained strength in asbestos lawsuits, keep Cook County and the two downstate counties near the top of the list of court systems renowned for being friendly to 'no-injury lawsuits' and 'meritless' claims.
By Jonathan Bilyk |

Latest News

Medium ward
Reform

IL Inspector General's effort to block access to state hiring reports show IL not ready to lift feds oversight: Court filing

By Jonathan Bilyk |
While Gov. JB Pritzker says the state is ready to emerge from federal court oversight of its hiring practices, a new court filing asserts efforts by the Office of the Executive Inspector General to impede court-appointed monitors from seeing certain state hiring reports says otherwise.
Medium jb pritzker seiu
Reform

Pritzker keeps push to lift feds oversight of state hiring, says law only blocks forced political work

By Dan Churney |
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is arguing federal oversight of state employment practices is limited to stopping political coercion of workers, but federal watchdogs say that reading of the law and related court orders is "crabbed" and a "sleight of hand" to skirt needed oversight.
Medium jb pritzker seiu
Reform

More time needed to test Pritzker's patronage solving claims: Court filing

By Jonathan Bilyk |
Wait six months before ruling on Gov. JB Pritzker's request to end court oversight of state patronage hiring practices, say a group of Chicago lawyers behind the court decrees that opened windows on hiring practices in Chicago and Springfield government offices.
Medium daley plaza
Reform

Report: Election of new clerk chance for reforms to boost public accountability, accessibility in Cook County courts

By Jonathan Bilyk |
A report from the Civic Federation, Chicago Appleseed and Chicago Council of Lawyers calls for the new Cook County Circuit Clerk to institute reforms and technology upgrades to make the county's courts more efficient and publicly accessible.
Medium jb pritzker seiu
Reform

Hiring monitor: Illinois has 'work to do' before court-ordered oversight of state hiring practices can be lifted

By Jonathan Bilyk |
The filing comes in response to Gov. JB Pritzker's try to end the court decrees that gives federal monitors the authority to combat patronage hiring in state government.
Medium seiu healthcare protest
Reform

SEIU Healthcare OKs deal to end lawsuit accusing union of wrongly collecting dues after members ask to stop

By Jonathan Bilyk |
Attorneys with the National Right to Work Foundation announced the deal, ending a class action vs the union, which had slowwalked or denied requests from members who wished to leave the union, all while continuing to collect fees.
Medium chicago daleycenter picasso upshot
Reform

U.S. appeals panel tells judge he can't put hold on lawsuit vs Cook County over property tax assessments

By Dan Churney |
A federal appeals court has told a judge to proceed with a taxpayer suit against Cook County, which claims the county unfairly assesses certain properties, saying the judge overstepped his bounds in halting the case, while the county asks the nation's high court to hear the matter.
Medium illinois madigan michael screenshot
Reform

House Speaker Michael Madigan implicated in ComEd bribery scheme

By Jonathan Bilyk |
Federal prosecutors said Madigan, through his associates, demanded "old fashioned patronage" for his associates and allies in exchange for supporting legislation that steered hundreds of millions of dollars from electrical customers to ComEd.
Medium illinois yarbrough karen 1280
Reform

Judge: Cook County Clerk Yarbrough violated federal orders over political hires

By Jonathan Bilyk |
A federal judge said Clerk Karen Yarbrough needs more federal supervision of her office's hiring practices, particularly as it absorbs the functions of the County Recorder's Office
Medium jb pritzker city club
Reform

Pritzker: 'Facts do not support' IL government hiring monitor's accusations Pritzker moves slowed reforms

By Jonathan Bilyk |
New court filing accuses special master of ambushing governor's office with accusations in report to federal judge
Medium facebook
Reform

'This should keep you up at night': $550M Facebook settlement could spark yet more IL biometrics class actions

By Jonathan Bilyk |
Attorneys urge employers to beware of lawsuits, address company policies and push Illinois officials to 'seek changes' to the state's Biometric Information Privacy Act.
Medium gerald maatman landscape
Reform

Report says employment lawsuits down, but class action success rate highest ever; Cost businesses billions

By Jonathan Bilyk |
Plaintiffs' lawyers are securing class action nods at 80% clip, and settlements are still totaling hundreds of millions of dollars, a report from Seyfarth Shaw says
Medium comed workers 1280
Reform

Investors bring class action vs Exelon over alleged corrupt ComEd lobbying using Madigan associates

By Jonathan Bilyk |
A group of Exelon investors have filed suit against the parent company of electrical utility ComEd, asserting the company’s potentially corrupt state lobbying activities in Springfield artificially inflated the company’s stock price, setting investors up for losses when the federal investigation into those activities came to light.
Medium pritzkeratamaypressconferencefromtwitter
Reform

Pritzker says IL pension reform would be shot down by U.S. Constitution, but that's far from certain, experts say

By Karen Kidd |
Illinois faces many billions in debt and tax demands for pensions. Gov. Pritzker says amending the state constitution won't help
Medium 2019 jh atra cover
Reform

Cook County, with Madison, St. Clair, land at No. 7 on list of America's worst 'Judicial Hellholes'

By Jonathan Bilyk |
Cook County’s courts have again landed on a familiar list, receiving a prime ranking on the list of America’s worst “judicial hellholes.”
Medium fourth district appellate courthouse
Reform

Appeals brief: Judge wrongly cut short taxpayer suit vs IL over constitutionality of $14B bond issues

By Jonathan Bilyk |
An Illinois state appeals court has been asked to decide if a judge in Springfield improperly ducked the question of whether state lawmakers illegally borrowed billions of dollars to pay down bills, when such actions may be forbidden by the Illinois state constitution.
Medium kaegi fritz
Reform

Chicago housing groups, new Assessor settle lawsuit over ex-assessor's 'discriminatory' practices

By Jonathan Bilyk |
With a new county assessor now in office, a group of Chicago neighborhood-based housing assistance organizations have settled the lawsuit they filed against the assessor’s office over past property tax assessment practices, conducted under former Assessor Joseph Berrios, they claim discriminated against black and Hispanic homeowners.
Medium ranking states 2019 1280
Reform

Survey says: Illinois has worst legal system in U.S.; Chicago courts 'least fair'

By Jonathan Bilyk |
The environment in courts in Cook County and Madison County have earned IL the bottom spot, according to the survey from the Institute for Legal Reform

Most Popular
1
Judge denies TRO sought by GOP candidates to block law that changed election rules to keep GOPers off ballot
2
May Raun blames Norfolk Southern Railway Company and Union Pacific Railroad Company for Negligence
3
Chicago jury orders downstate hospital system, dialysis clinic to pay $41M to lawyer who suffered stroke, paralysis
4
IL lawmakers OK bill to limit risk of financial ruin for businesses targeted by biometrics class actions
5
Dolton cop says Henyard, police commanders violated law by promoting unqualified officers to sergeant