Illinois

American Eagle Fined $900K in First Penalty Levied re Passengers Waiting Over 3 Hours on Tarmac

For those wondering how aggressively the U.S. Department of Transportation intends to enforce a new rule requiring airlines not to keep domestic passengers sitting for more than 3 hours in planes waiting on the tarmac, a $900,000 fine assessed against American Eagle Airlines provides an answer. The penalty resulted from…

Nov 14, 2011 7:15 PM CST

Can Citizens Use Cellphones to Record Cops? Joining 1st Circuit, Oregon Appeals Court Says Yes

Arrests of individuals who record police as they are being questioned have been much in the news lately. Among the latest to be criminally charged is a Florida man is being held in the Palm Beach County Jail in lieu of $4,500 bail for allegedly recording officers on his iPhone…

Nov 2, 2011 1:24 AM CDT

Illinois Appeals Court Upholds Verdict Despite Blogging Juror’s Observations

An Illinois juror helping decide whether the Metra commuter railroad was negligent in the death of a blind man couldn’t resist blogging about the case, spurring an appeal and an analysis of her revelations. Chicago freelance writer Eve Bradshaw wrote six blog entries at The Green Room, the Chicago Tribune…

Nov 1, 2011 11:00 AM CDT

Blago’s Law License Is Suspended; Will Impeached Ill. Gov Be 3rd Ex-Leader of State to Be Disbarred?

In the latest blow to disgraced former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, the state supreme court today suspended his law license, WGN reports. The action, taken at the request of the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission, follows Blagojevich’s historic 2009 impeachment (the first time a governor has been removed from…

Oct 26, 2011 10:35 PM CDT

Matrimonial Firm Got Zip after Discussing Divorce Case with Both Spouses

Attorney David J. Grund only met with David Newton for an hour or two. And, Grund said, he told Newton not to give him any confidential information, because he wouldn’t represent him in a pending divorce until a contract was signed. But a state appellate court found that the 2007…

Oct 26, 2011 8:35 PM CDT

Once a Jet-Setter, Disbarred Ill. Trial Lawyer Serving Time in Coke Case Takes Plea in Teen Sex Case

Formerly a jet-setting trial attorney who founded a successful law firm in downstate Illinois near St. Louis, Thomas Lakin is now in his 70s, disbarred and serving federal time on, as one newspaper described it, “drug charges stemming from the cocaine-fueled sex parties he held.” In a federal court hearing…

Oct 25, 2011 11:33 PM CDT

Rap Expert to Testify at Trial of Student Accused of Writing ‘Murderous Rampage’ Note

A rap expert is among the witnesses expected to testify at the trial of a former college student accused of making a terrorist threat after police found a threatening note in his abandoned car. The defense claims the former Southern Illinois University student, Olutosin Oduwole, is an aspiring rapper, report…

Oct 19, 2011 2:35 PM CDT

Judge Rules Consent Is Defense to Battery, Acquits Woman Whose Punch Killed Partygoer

An Illinois woman has been acquitted of reckless conduct and battery for her lethal punch to a partygoer who accepted $5 to take the hit. Judge Edward Burmila granted a directed verdict for 22-year-old Tiffany Startz of Joliet on Wednesday, report the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Tribune. Startz had…

Oct 13, 2011 1:29 PM CDT

Lawyer Accused of Calling Colleagues ‘Gay Scum’ and ‘Idiots’ Agrees to Suspension

A Chicago lawyer accused of using gay slurs to taunt colleagues competing for traffic court cases has agreed to a one-month license suspension. Thomas Guadagno, 66, acknowledged inappropriate conduct in the deal with the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission, the Chicago Tribune reports. He had been accused of describing…

Oct 11, 2011 11:00 AM CDT

Ex-Partner at Major Firms Settles with DOJ, Will Stop Promoting Tax Shelters, Turn Over Client Names

A former partner at two well-known Chicago-based law firms has reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice concerning alleged sham tax shelters involving distressed foreign debt. John E. Rogers will stop promoting the tax shelters to clients as part of his pact in the Chicago federal district court…

Oct 4, 2011 5:39 PM CDT

Lawyer and Ex-Client Charged in Perjury and Obstruction Case re Failed Hospital and Offshore Trust

An Indiana lawyer and his former client have been federally indicted in Chicago in a perjury and obstruction case related to the demise of an Illinois hospital in which both formerly had an ownership interest. Attorney Frederick M. Cuppy and Peter G. Rogan are accused of standing in the way…

Oct 4, 2011 5:13 PM CDT

Car Salesman Loses NLRB Case Against Dealership That Fired Him over Facebook Post

A Chicago area car salesman has lost an unfair labor practices case that contended a dealership improperly fired him for his Facebook posts. Administrative Law Judge Joel Biblowitz of the National Labor Relations Board ruled last week against BMW salesman Robert Becker, according to the Chicago Tribune and a press…

Oct 3, 2011 11:00 AM CDT

Two Illinois Lawyers Have Similar Name and Practice Focus, But Only One Is Being Sued By State AG

Both Michael E. Fleck and Michael J. Fleck are Illinois lawyers who handle real estate matters. They are often mistaken for each other, Michael J. Fleck tells Chicago radio station WBBM. But that is now more of a problem for Michael J. Fleck now that Michael E. Fleck has been…

Sep 29, 2011 10:13 AM CDT

U of Illinois Corrects LSAT and GPA Stats for Additional Law Classes

It wasn’t just concerning the most recent incoming law school class that the University of Illinois initially published inaccurate Law School Admission Test and grade point average data on its website and in promotional materials. In addition to now-corrected LSAT and GPA information for the law school class of 2014,…

Sep 28, 2011 10:42 PM CDT

Suit Says Defect in Cruise Control May Have Sparked Blaze that Destroyed Trailer Home

A Chicago-area woman claims in a lawsuit that the cruise control system in a parked Ford F-150 may have started a blaze that burned down her family’s trailer home. The suit, filed on behalf of Guadalupe Mendez of Aurora, Ill., claims a flaw in the truck’s cruise control may have…

Sep 27, 2011 11:00 AM CDT