Illinois

Letter will advise Chicagoans on ‘heat list’ of violent-crime consequences

About 20 Chicagoans on a “heat list” are getting a hand-delivered letter from police warning about the consequences of violent crime. The pilot program targets those in one west side police district who are most likely to shoot others or become victims, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. The letters will warn…

Jul 22, 2013 10:44 AM CDT

Man ticketed for picking dandelions forced to pay $75 fine

An elderly Chicago area man whose $75 ticket for picking dandelions for food drew international attention was left angry and embarrassed this week after he was forced to pay the fine. John Taris, who lives with his wife on a fixed income, said the fine for foraging in a Cook…

Jul 12, 2013 5:07 PM CDT

Stunned Chicago pizzeria waitress is latest to benefit, via $500 tip, from stranger’s bequest

In a number of families, even a will drafted by a lawyer is subject to challenge, formally or informally, as relatives fight for a piece of the pie. But the survivors of a Kentucky man who committed suicide last year have found a way to create assets he didn’t have,…

Jul 12, 2013 12:00 PM CDT

Decades after ex-attorney killed 2 lawyers, shot judges in Texas courtroom, fatal conflicts continue

A fatal attack in a Texas appellate courtroom almost exactly 21 years ago is remembered as a milestone in Tarrant County history that led to a new focus on keeping lawyers, judges and litigants safe. Yet such conflicts continue today, there and elsewhere, despite the increased awareness and new security…

Jul 11, 2013 4:40 PM CDT

Illinois governor suspends pay for lawmakers to force action on pension ‘crisis’

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn used his line-item veto authority to suspend the pay of lawmakers in the state until they reconvene to resolve the state’s “worst-in-the-nation pension crisis.” “In this budget, there should be no paychecks for legislators until they get the job done on pension reform,” Governor Quinn said…

Jul 10, 2013 5:15 PM CDT

Ex-Sidley partner says $69K cab-fare reimbursement was used for firm-related purposes

A former partner of Sidley Austin says in an answer (PDF) to an ethics complaint that he used approximately $69,000 from fabricated cab-fare reimbursement claims over a five-year period “for purposes that he considered related to the firm.” Lee Mark Smolen also says in his answer that his cab-fare claims,…

Jul 10, 2013 1:20 PM CDT

Defendant flees courtroom after not-guilty plea, pursued by security officers and his mother

After pleading not guilty to charges of armed violence and burglary on Monday, a defendant fled a suburban Chicago courtroom with security officers and his own mother in hot pursuit. Dylan E. Draut, 39, didn’t get far in his orange jail attire and flip-flops. Although he hadn’t even escaped the…

Jul 10, 2013 10:45 AM CDT

Illinois becomes last state to legalize concealed guns

Thwarting an attempt by Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn to rewrite a compromise bill legalizing concealed guns, both the state senate and house voted to override the governor’s amendatory veto of the bill. The move makes Illinois the last state in the country to legalize concealed guns, the Chicago Tribune points…

Jul 9, 2013 10:09 PM CDT

Schiff adds 11 Mazur Carp lawyers in NYC

Schiff Hardin has announced the addition of 11 new lawyers in its New York offices, through its acquisition of Mazur Carp & Rubin. The firm, which is particularly known for its construction and trusts and estates practice groups, combined with Schiff on July 1. “This combination is an exciting development…

Jul 9, 2013 3:10 PM CDT

Better life after BigLaw beckons, cross-country walker tells laid-off Weil attorneys

Getting laid off from a BigLaw job isn’t pleasant. But it’s not the end of the world either, a former Sidley Austin bankruptcy associate tells compatriots from Weil Gotshal & Manges in a recent blog post. They’re now on the other side of the fence, where the grass is greener,…

Jul 8, 2013 9:15 PM CDT

Sex-assault reports cut by 60 percent after Navy starts program focused on recruit training, alcohol

Amidst widespread recognition that sexual harassment and even sexual assault of subordinates, colleagues and outsiders is a problem in the U.S. military, one Navy base seems to have found a solution. At the Great Lakes naval station north of Chicago, officials have designed a boot camp training program that greets…

Jul 8, 2013 8:40 PM CDT

Both winning claimants to $150K veggie garden cash stash have died, so money will go to heirs

The mystery of how a $150,000 cash stash got into vegetable garden of a suburban Chicago home may have been solved. The money, found by an unemployed electrician in his yard in 2011, wasn’t stolen, as the owner of a nearby liquor store had hoped, following a robbery there, but…

Jul 3, 2013 4:15 PM CDT

First Hispanic judge to head Chicago-area federal court district says juries need to be more diverse

The first Hispanic judge to take the the helm of the federal district court system in the Chicago area is calling for juries to be more diverse. Although he does not have a specific fix to offer to the problem, which other judges also have recognized, Castillo said in an…

Jul 2, 2013 9:45 PM CDT

Elderly man who picked dandelions for food gets $75 ticket

Most agree, dandelions are a notorious weed. But some recognize that dandelion greens can contribute to a tasty and nutritious meal. Among the fans of the food is John Taris, a 75-year-old retiree who lives in the Chicago area with his wife on a $1,500-a-month social security payment. When the…

Jun 28, 2013 5:52 PM CDT

Lawyer held in contempt after skipping traffic trial for real estate closing, gets 2 days and fine

An Illinois lawyer who found himself caught in a bind between a client’s downtown Chicago real estate closing in October 2011 and another client’s traffic-court trial scheduled at the same time opted to attend the closing. That resulted in a contempt citation for Wayne Adams and two trials. The first,…

Jun 27, 2013 4:40 PM CDT