Illinois

Woman convicted of filing fake $100B liens against former US attorney and others

“I don’t owe anyone $100 billion,” former U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald testified in federal court in Chicago this week, and a jury apparently believed him. After testimony from Fitzgerald, a sitting federal judge and a current and former magistrate judge concerning $100 billion maritime liens allegedly filed by Cherron Phillips…

Jun 18, 2014 10:30 PM CDT

Nuns sue neighboring strip club

A group of nuns in Stone Park, Illinois, have sued a neighboring strip club in an effort to shut down the establishment. The suit (PDF), which also names the village of Stone Park, claims the club is operating in violation of a state law that requires a 1,000-foot buffer zone…

Jun 18, 2014 7:01 PM CDT

Woman accused of filing $100B fake liens against prosecutors, judges in revenge for brother’s case

Barred from the federal courthouse in Chicago and forbidden to make filings on behalf of a brother who had pleaded guilty in a drug case, Cherron Phillips allegedly tried another tack. Federal prosecutors say she slapped fake liens totaling $100 billion each on property owned by then-U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald,…

Jun 16, 2014 7:45 PM CDT

Speeding motorcyclist busted by YouTube video and ankle monitor gets 4 years

A speeding suburban Chicago motorcyclist who apparently sought to taunt police by photographing an unsuccessful police chase and posting the video on YouTube in 2012 may have gotten more than he bargained for. On Friday, 31-year-old Hamza Ali Ben Ali was sentenced to four years by a DuPage County judge,…

Jun 16, 2014 2:40 PM CDT

Peoria didn’t play in fake mayoral tweet case; cops’ search of account-holder’s home sparks lawsuit

A constitutional law drama is now unfolding in Peoria, where officials didn’t play when they spotted fake posts being published on Twitter under the name of the Illinois city’s mayor earlier this year. Although Twitter account-holder Jonathan Daniel called the ridiculous, sometimes profane comments made in the @Peoriamayor tweets obvious…

Jun 12, 2014 10:25 PM CDT

8 Steptoe litigators leap to Chicago trial boutique, which hopes to expand further

Updated: Eight litigators have exited Steptoe & Johnson for Williams Montgomery & John, their new firm announced Wednesday. Led by Christopher J. Barber, the three-partner, five-associate group focuses on complex litigation, arbitration and trial work. They are expected to add substantial depth to the nearly 50-year-old Chicago commercial trial boutique,…

Jun 11, 2014 7:15 PM CDT

Speeding motorcyclist busted by YouTube video and ankle monitor

A speeding motorcyclist who initially evaded police during a chase in the Chicago suburbs put on new twist on a daredevil practice of recording such incidents on camera. In addition to posting a video on YouTube, motorcyclist Hamza Ali Ben Ali was wearing a GPS ankle monitor during the 2012…

Jun 11, 2014 3:10 PM CDT

$10.1B verdict against maker of light cigarettes in 2003 is resurrected and appealed

A St. Louis lawyer who succeeded in getting an Illinois appeals court to reinstate a $10.1 billion verdict against a maker of light cigarettes is fighting to preserve the judgment. Lawyer Stephen Tillery’s $10.1 billion verdict against Philip Morris in 2003 was a record amount in Illinois, the Chicago Tribune…

Jun 10, 2014 1:48 PM CDT

7th Circuit holds do-over after secret hearing was recorded but public argument wasn’t

News last week of an unusual closed-door federal appeals court argument Wednesday from which even defense counsel was excluded was quickly followed by news of another rare occurrence the same day in the same case: The public portion of the argument wasn’t recorded. Then on Friday, another unexpected development occurred:…

Jun 9, 2014 10:00 PM CDT

Lawyer, 26, is rescued after boat sinks but dies of hypothermia

A young Illinois lawyer known for her engaging personality and the help she gave others died over the weekend after a boating accident. Ashley Haws, 26, worked at the Davi Law Group, which called her “a beautiful and brilliant rising star in the legal community, the Chicago Tribune reports. She…

Jun 3, 2014 7:49 PM CDT

Chicago sues 5 drug companies, says they pushed painkillers and drove up city’s costs

Following in the footsteps of two California counties, the city of Chicago this week filed suit against five pharmaceutical companies, contending that they drove up the city’s costs by overstating the benefits of their addictive painkillers and failing to reveal the downside of taking the drugs. It says the defendants,…

Jun 3, 2014 3:15 PM CDT

Report says Chicago police, FBI joined in warrantless probation searches; law firm to investigate

The judge in charge of all Chicago-area courts announced Wednesday that he had retained a private law firm to investigate claims made in a lengthy Chicago Tribune article published earlier in the day. Cook County probation officers had for years been allowing Chicago police and agents of the Federal Bureau…

May 22, 2014 4:50 PM CDT

Off-site security video saves woman from felony charge, is now evidence in federal civil rights case

Updated: Afraid she was being robbed or attacked, Jianqing Klyzek began screaming as a group of men in plain clothes followed by uniformed police officers strode past the reception desk at the Copper Tan and Spa on the north side of Chicago last July and one grabbed her arm. “What…

May 20, 2014 8:04 PM CDT

Judge upholds oral pact, says woman can implant fertilized eggs despite ex-boyfriend’s objection

In 2009, as Karla Dunston faced treatment for lymphoma that could, and did, make her infertile, she and her boyfriend agreed to create embryos together that could be frozen for subsequent use. A written agreement giving her control of the embryos was drafted but never signed. Later, Jacob Szafranski changed…

May 16, 2014 8:30 PM CDT

Kirkland partner offers ‘Top 10’ list of email topics that don’t require a firmwide blast

Solicited within an hour of arriving at his Chicago office Wednesday with multiple firmwide email requests for information on specialized topics in distant locations, a Kirkland & Ellis practice leader responded with a blast of his own on the topic of unnecessary email. Provided by Above the Law, the lengthy…

May 16, 2014 3:30 PM CDT