New Illinois Bill Makes it Possible to Fight City Hall
City governments in Illinois have the right to issue a citation and fine to property owners for a number of reasons. These reasons may include failure to care for one’s yard, installing the wrong type of fence, parking a vehicle in the street during a snow storm when the plows are out, a barking dog […]
Illinois Gov. Signs Pregnancy Discrimination Bill
Starting January 1, 2015, pregnant women in Illinois will have more protection in the workplace, thanks to a new bill passed by lawmakers this year. Gov. Pat Quinn recently signed House Bill 8 which amends the Illinois Human Rights Act, requiring state employers to provide reasonable accommodations for pregnant employees. The bill was a collaborative […]
Ban the Box
Recently, Gov. Pat Quinn signed into law the Job Opportunities for Qualified Applicants Act. Commonly referred to as “ban the box” legislation, it prohibits Illinois employment agencies and private employers, with 15 or more employees, from prescreening applicants over a criminal record or history. Under the new law, which goes into effect on Jan. 1, […]
Google Accused of Trade Secret Infringement
In the past, lawyers for multiple small companies have accused search engine giant, Google Inc., of stealing and profiting from their clients’ trade secrets. In the case of VSL Communications, lawyers claim that Google did the same thing and left a paper trail of Post-it notes as evidence. London-based VSL Communications is accusing Google of […]
Target Data Breach Fuels Litigation
Over the last year, retailers have experienced data breaches that compromised consumer’s private credit card and debit card information. The list includes CVS, Home Depot, Neiman Marcus, Shaws, Sears, Supervalu Inc., Target and Walgreens. When Target Corporation announced earlier this year that as many as 110 million customers’ credit and customer records had been hacked […]
Chicago Seeks to Restrict Gun Stores with New Ordinance
Chicago has long been known as a city with a high violence rate. Decades ago, the city’s leaders created a ban on gun stores which has continued to the present time. Despite that ban, gun violence continues to be the city’s biggest problem. In 2013 guns were responsible for the deaths of 415 people. While […]
“Arising Out Of” Employment
The purpose of the Workers’ Compensation Act (Act) is to protect employees against risks and hazards which are particularly characteristics to the specific work they have been employed to do. An injury is compensable under the Act only if it “arises out of” and “in the course of” the employment. The phrase “in the course […]
E – cigarettes
The State of Illinois continues in its efforts to protect nonsmokers, children and students from the dangers of smoking. In the past month, Governor Quinn has signed new laws regulating the way electronic cigarettes can be sold. The new law requires that all e-cigarettes must be sold from behind a counter, in a sealed case […]
General Motors Has Set A New Precedence For Auto Recalls This Year
General Motors (GM) has set a new precedence for auto recalls this year, as the first cavalcade of auto recalls quickly turned the safety notices into background noise ignored by many of the effected car owners. GM started the avalanche on February 2014, when they announced that they had to fix a fatally flawed ignition […]
Traffic Ticket Quotas
The policy of assigning quotas for the number of traffic tickets each officer must issue officially ended in Illinois after Gov. Pat Quinn signed legislation in June. This is good news for some drivers but ending the policy could have an effect on how Illinois police are evaluated as well as how much money some […]