Illinois

Ex-law firm worker stole $500K to pay for medical bills, $40K boat and $55K vehicle

Originally accused of stealing more than $1 million from a suburban Chicago law firm during a six-year period, a former accounting department worker pleaded guilty on Friday to taking over $500,000. Le Anna Kelty, 55, is expected to get between four and 15 years in prison when she is sentenced…

Jan 11, 2016 9:40 AM CST

Chicago pays reparations to 57 victims of torture by renegade police squad

Chicago announced Monday that it is paying $5.5 million in reparations to victims of a police unit that for decades systematically tortured African-Americans in detention, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. The payments followed an agreement by the City Council last spring—just a week after sometimes-violent protests in Baltimore over the death…

Jan 5, 2016 2:20 PM CST

Former Chicago lawyer charged with murdering his wife in 1973

A former Illinois lawyer was arrested at his home in Sugar Land, Texas, on Thursday and charged with murdering his wife in suburban Chicago in 1973. Police in Sugar Land said Donnie Rudd, 73, waived extradition and should soon be back in Illinois to face prosecution in the Cook County…

Dec 18, 2015 11:10 AM CST

Chicago police officer indicted for murder one for shooting teen ‘without lawful justification’

A Chicago police officer accused of firing 16 shots “without lawful justification” at a 17-year-old who was moving away from him has been indicted for first-degree murder. It is the first time in almost 35 years that a police officer has been indicted for first-degree murder concerning an on-duty death,…

Dec 17, 2015 5:25 PM CST

Michael Jordan donates ‘multimillion-dollar’ settlement in advertising case to Chicago charities

After winning a $8.9 million jury verdict earlier this year in a federal lawsuit over unauthorized supermarket advertising, basketball legend Michael Jordan has reached a settlement and donated the proceeds to charity. He settled last month for an undisclosed sum both the suit against Dominick’s and related litigation against Jewel-Osco,…

Dec 16, 2015 1:45 PM CST

Final defendant sentenced in suburban Chicago courthouse beating gets 3 years

Martell Jones said he was simply in the wrong place, at the wrong time, with the wrong group of people. But a suburban Chicago judge on Monday said the evidence showed Jones, now 27, was involved in beating a man outside the Will County Courthouse nearly a year ago. He…

Dec 16, 2015 1:20 PM CST

Mom did not neglect sons by letting them play outside, state agrees after legal battle

A Chicago mother initially found to have neglected her three children by allowing them to play in a park next to their home in 2013 has been cleared with the help of a major corporate law firm. An Illinois appeals court dismissed the case Monday after the state Department of…

Dec 16, 2015 12:25 PM CST

BigLaw partner is ordered to donate $5,000 for tweeting photos during federal trial

A partner at Barnes & Thornburg in Chicago will have to donate $5,000 to the Chicago Bar Foundation as a sanction for tweeting photos of evidence while observing a federal trial. A committee of federal judges sanctioned lawyer Vincent “Trace” Schmeltz in a Dec. 10 order, the National Law Journal…

Dec 15, 2015 12:35 PM CST

Former BigLaw partner is acquitted of sexual assault, says case made his life a ‘nightmare’

Updated: A former Sidley Austin partner in Chicago blasted police and prosecutors after he and his nephew were acquitted of sexual assault on Thursday. The lawyer, 52-year-old Stanley Stallworth, and his nephew, 24-year-old Therrie Miller, were both acquitted in a bench trial, the Chicago Tribune reports. They were charged in…

Dec 11, 2015 8:27 AM CST

Lawyer who lives in Iowa seeks election as Illinois state’s attorney

Jack Schwartz lives in Iowa. But because he is licensed to practice law in Illinois, he is eligible to seek election in Illinois as a top county prosecutor, a state official says. That’s exactly what Schwartz has done, filing to run for election as Rock Island County State’s Attorney in…

Dec 10, 2015 4:30 PM CST

BigLaw partner suggests his own sanction for tweeting photos during trial

A partner at Barnes & Thornburg in Chicago who faces possible sanctions for tweeting photos of evidence during a federal trial has proposed making a $1,000 donation as punishment. In court papers (PDF) filed on Friday, Vincent “Trace” Schmeltz responded to the federal court’s request for his proposals on how…

Dec 10, 2015 9:17 AM CST

Online property information aids deed thieves

Online property information is making it easier for swindlers to forge deeds so they can sell vacant homes to unsuspecting buyers. The problem is particularly bad in New York City, where 120 cases are being investigated, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports. The city posts online copies of deeds,…

Dec 9, 2015 12:16 PM CST

Mom who left 6-year-old daughter alone in car for 10 minutes fights neglect finding

At a time when some feel that parents and government officials are excessively zealous about safeguarding children from perceived risks, a suburban Chicago nurse is fighting a neglect finding over parental conduct that was relatively commonplace decades ago. Lisa Graham admittedly left her 6-year-old daughter alone in her car for…

Dec 4, 2015 10:10 AM CST

Suburban Chicago school board OKs full locker room access for transgender student

As potential litigation with the federal government loomed, a suburban Chicago school district early Thursday agreed to settle a civil rights complaint about not providing a transgender high school student unrestricted access to the girls locker room. Both sides appear to have compromised to resolve the dispute in the groundbreaking…

Dec 3, 2015 2:45 PM CST

Court disbars lawyer who recorded and mocked clients for his amusement

An Indianapolis lawyer was occasionally generous with $150,000 he misappropriated from his client trust account, according to the Indiana Supreme Court. The lawyer, David Steele, put most of the unearned fees into his personal or operating account, but sometimes he peeled off a few hundred dollars to give his employees…

Dec 2, 2015 7:41 AM CST