Illinois

Woman who says she rescued alligator about to be flushed in toilet is charged in airport abandonment

A woman who told police that she and her then-boyfriend rescued a 2-foot alligator that a friend was going to flush down a toilet has been charged with abandoning the animal in a Chicago airport. Alexis T. Prokopchuk, 29, who lives in the city’s suburbs, was arrested Tuesday and faces…

Jan 22, 2014 6:50 PM CST

Feds seek 10 years for man who admits he sold drugs to judge, 18 months for jurist

Federal prosecutors are seeking a 10- to 11-year prison term for a man who admittedly sold heroin to a downstate Illinois judge and 18 months for the jurist in a heroin possession and weapons case. But a federal district court judge presiding over the drug cases appears poised for a…

Jan 22, 2014 6:30 PM CST

Oops. Ringing cellphone during court hearing leads to new trouble for defendant

In court on Wednesday in suburban Chicago to pay a $150 fine, Nichalas Weesies apparently forgot to turn off his cellphone. It rang. That, along with what Lt. Michael Rompa of the Bolingbrook police called a “derogatory comment,” led Judge Dave Carlson to hold Weesies in contempt in the Bolingbrook…

Jan 16, 2014 11:45 PM CST

Drew Peterson appeals murder verdict on basis that his own witness shouldn’t have been allowed

A former suburban Chicago police officer found guilty in 2012 of killing his third wife is blaming both the trial judge and his former lawyer for allowing attorney testimony that helped convict him in the high-profile Illinois murder case. In a filing mailed Monday that seeks to overturn his conviction,…

Jan 14, 2014 7:54 PM CST

Parking-dibs tradition becomes a federal case in Chicago

There is a tradition of “dibs” in Chicago in which residents who shovel out a parking space on city streets mark their territory with items such as broken baby chairs and ridiculous lamps. The practice has led to debates over whether dibs should be honored, and disputes between those who…

Jan 9, 2014 1:29 PM CST

Name partner bolts from Chicago law firm along with 28 other attorneys

A name partner of Chicago-based Bates Carey Nicolaides has exited the firm along with 28 of its attorneys. Richard Nicolaides and his group will now be known as Nicolaides Fink Thorpe Michaelides Sullivan. The new practice also has four West Coast lawyers from other firms, including name partner Sara Thorpe,…

Jan 7, 2014 8:00 PM CST

Chicago’s ban on gun stores is struck down

Image from Shutterstock. A federal judge on Monday overturned Chicago’s ban on gun stores and private sales of firearms. U.S. District Judge Edmond Chang found the ban on gun sales violated the Second Amendment, report the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun-Times and the New York Times. Chang stayed his decision…

Jan 7, 2014 2:54 PM CST

Girl gets $32M settlement in med-mal case over quadruple limb amputations

A $32 million settlement in a malpractice case against the University of Chicago Medical Center last year will allow an 11-year-old who had both arms and both legs amputated to live for the first time in a fully handicapped-accessible home; pay a personal assistant for the rest of her life;…

Jan 3, 2014 8:40 PM CST

Was Christmas fire that destroyed small law office a case-related arson?

It isn’t yet known whether a Christmas fire that destroyed an Illinois attorney’s law office was an arson. But matrimonial lawyer Paula Rieghns says she is convinced someone unhappy about a divorce case firebombed her small Marengo office, northwest of Chicago, according to CBS Chicago and the Northwest Herald (reg.…

Jan 2, 2014 5:45 PM CST

BigLaw partner charged in sexual assault case

A longtime real estate partner at the Chicago headquarters of Sidley Austin has been charged with criminal sexual assault and is on leave from the firm. Stanley B. Stallworth, 50, is accused along with his 22-year-old nephew of sexually assaulting at his home on Thanksgiving an 18-year-old man his nephew…

Dec 6, 2013 11:50 PM CST

Facing loss of health coverage, 2 lawyers turn to ‘Problem Solver’ for help proving their marriage

Philip and Nancy Hablutzel have been married for more than three decades. When required to prove that they are still husband and wife by an administrator for a state health insurance system, however, the two Illinois lawyers found themselves stymied. Nancy Hablutzel, a state retiree, operates her own law firm…

Dec 6, 2013 9:55 PM CST

Top prosecutor faces ethics case over racial remarks that derailed murder trial

The top prosecutor in a southern Illinois county is facing a legal ethics case because of racial remarks he made that derailed a murder trial. Williamson County State’s Attorney Charles Garnati violated four legal ethics rules and “tends to defeat the administration of justice or to bring the courts or…

Dec 5, 2013 5:40 PM CST

Terminally ill woman to be issued same-sex marriage license early by judge’s order

A new Illinois law allowing same-sex couples to marry won’t take effect until June 1. But Vernita Gray is set to marry Patricia Ewert before the end of the month, after a federal judge ordered Cook County Clerk David Orr to issue a marriage license to the Chicago couple, reports…

Nov 27, 2013 5:15 PM CST

Violent felons get boot-camp sentences, despite Illinois law

Chicago-area judges have sentenced hundreds of violent felons to boot camp despite an Illinois law that allows only nonviolent offenders to enter the program. The Chicago Sun-Times came to that conclusion after reviewing Cook County records stretching back to 2006. One of the defendants sentenced to boot camp was Denzel…

Nov 22, 2013 8:22 PM CST

Taft Stettinius to acquire 70-attorney Chicago firm

A 70-attorney Chicago law firm is planning to merge with Taft Stettinius & Hollister in January, in a move that will eliminate the Shefksy & Froelich name but potentially double the size of its Chicago office and provide the growing Ohio-based Taft Stettinius with a significant presence in the Midwest’s…

Nov 19, 2013 5:45 PM CST