Illinois

Legal incubator helps lawyers launch firms serving clients of modest means

Although there’s an oversupply of lawyers, there’s also an undersupply of representation for those who need their services but can’t afford to pay hefty fees. The Chicago Bar Foundation is trying to address that imbalance, and help recent graduates get jobs, through a privately supported legal incubator. Its Justice Entrepreneurs…

Nov 15, 2013 9:40 PM CST

Accused of threat to witness, convicted drug dealer exits federal courthouse when judge revokes bond

Accused of threatening a witness Sunday, a convicted drug dealer freed on bond pending sentencing showed up at the federal courthouse in Chicago on Tuesday to respond to a prosecution motion asking that he be taken into custody. But after U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber did, in fact, revoke bond…

Nov 15, 2013 7:35 PM CST

Social media helps authorities pursue case of alligator abandoned at Chicago airport

It’s not clear that anyone thought to ban passengers from bringing live alligators, via the Chicago transit system, to the city’s O’Hare International Airport, as a woman apparently did early this month. However, an Illinois state law at least arguably applies, prohibiting individuals from acting in a caretaking role for…

Nov 14, 2013 4:40 PM CST

Infomercial king Kevin Trudeau guilty of contempt for violating FTC consent decree

A federal jury in Chicago has reached a verdict almost immediately after a trial concluded Tuesday in a criminal contempt case against a diet book author and television infomercial king. Kevin Trudeau, 50, is guilty of violating a decade-old consent decree with the Federal Trade Commission over his marketing of…

Nov 12, 2013 9:29 PM CST

Tax lawyer and DOJ settle suit over claimed $16M shelter scheme; suit by football players ongoing

A Chicago tax lawyer is apparently going to have to focus on a new area of practice and find a new job following a settlement of a civil complaint by the U.S. Department of Justice that accused him of helping professional football players and others claim $16 million in improper…

Nov 11, 2013 8:40 PM CST

Ex-probation officer to get 5 years in cocaine case ... unless he supplied drug that killed judge

A federal judge has OK’d a plea deal in which a former St. Clair County, Ill., probation officer is to get five years in a court-related drug case after pleading guilty Wednesday to intent to distribute cocaine and felon in possession of a firearm charges. But that deal is off…

Nov 7, 2013 4:55 PM CST

Illinois is latest state to OK same-sex marriage

Lawmakers in the Illinois house and senate OK’d same-sex marriage on Tuesday, setting the stage for the state governor to give the measure its final approval. Illinois is now poised to become the 15th state to recognize marriages between same-sex couples, since Gov. Pat Quinn has supported the bill, the…

Nov 5, 2013 11:20 PM CST

2nd convicted murderer wins retrial due to drug case now faced by presiding judge

A second convicted murderer has won a retrial because the Illinois judge who presided over his trial is now facing a criminal drug case in federal court. A public defender for Gregory Muse suggested that St. Clair County Circuit Judge Mike Cook might have been impaired at her client’s March…

Oct 31, 2013 6:50 PM CDT

Cadaver-dog evidence helps convict husband of murdering his wife in 1990

In what is being billed as a possible first-of-its-kind case, at least in Illinois, a jury has convicted a man of first-degree murder, despite the lack of a body, due in part to evidence provided by cadaver dogs. Aurelio Montano, 58, was found guilty Wednesday of killing his wife, Maria…

Oct 31, 2013 3:40 PM CDT

Illinois sues online adoption agency

The state of Illinois has sued an online adoption agency that matches prospective parents with birth mothers. The suit by Attorney General Lisa Madigan says the Adoption Network Law Center accepts compensation for its services and is not approved by the state to place children, the Chicago Tribune reports. The…

Oct 29, 2013 7:03 PM CDT

Attorney forgave her sister’s killer and became an advocate against the death penalty

A well-known Illinois lawyer who works as a public defender and opposes the death penalty, Jeanne Bishop is also a woman of faith who views the criminal justice system from a very personal perspective. One of her sisters, Nancy Bishop Langert, was murdered, along with her husband, Richard, in the…

Oct 28, 2013 7:35 PM CDT

Community activist with law degree hid bomb-plot conviction to get US citizenship, indictment says

A suburban Chicago resident, who earned a law degree and is a valued member of a community organization that promotes Arab-American civil rights, was convicted in a terrorist attack decades ago and lied on an immigration application to become a citizen of the U.S., federal officials contend. Rasmieh Yousef Odeh,…

Oct 25, 2013 3:30 PM CDT

Pitchman Kevin Trudeau jailed until he reveals assets to pay $37M fine in FTC matter

Especially for someone who claims to have no assets with which to pay a penny of a $37 million civil judgment, diet book author and infomercial pitchman Kevin Trudeau is living high on the hog, the feds say. They cite the $12,500 Patek Philippe cufflinks (he says they belong to…

Oct 22, 2013 5:50 PM CDT

Brain-injured man can’t marry, judge rules

An Illinois man who suffered a brain injury during surgery in 2009 can’t marry his girlfriend of 38 years because he doesn’t have the capacity to consent, a Rockford judge has ruled. Judge Lisa Fabiano says she has no doubt that John Morris would like to marry long-time girlfriend, Colette…

Oct 7, 2013 10:45 AM CDT

Infomercial king avoids jail, for now, because of contempt hearing delay caused by shutdown

TV pitchman Kevin Trudeau, accused of misleading viewers with claims about his weight loss book, may be grateful for the government shutdown. Trudeau faced a contempt hearing today for failing to pay a $37 million judgment in a deceptive marketing case brought by the Federal Trade Commission. But FTC lawyers…

Oct 4, 2013 11:54 AM CDT