Illinois

Lawyer Is Criminally Charged, Accused of Causing Disturbance While Making Courthouse Filing

Updated: An Illinois lawyer has been criminally charged for allegedly behaving in “a loud or aggressive manner” while making a filing Wednesday at the Lake County Courthouse. Lee Fainman, 37, who practices in the Chicago area, was charged with disorderly conduct and obstruction of a police officer, according to the…

Dec 20, 2012 6:39 PM CST

22 Frat Members Face Hazing Case re NIU Student’s Alcohol Poisoning Death; 5 Charged With Felonies

A freshman’s efforts to fit in at a Northern Illinois University fraternity party ended in his death last month, due to excessive drinking. And now 22 members of the fraternity, Pi Kappa Alpha, which temporarily lost its NIU accreditation after David Bogenberger’s death on Nov. 2, face criminal hazing charges.…

Dec 19, 2012 8:15 PM CST

Convicted Bank Robbers Escape Federal Prison in Chicago, Climb Down 15 Floors Using Bedsheets

Updated: Two convicted bank robbers sharing a cell escaped from the federal Metropolitan Correctional Center in downtown Chicago early Tuesday by exiting through a five-inch-wide window and using bedsheets tied together into a makeshift rope to rappel down at least 15 floors to the ground, officials said. The daring unauthorized…

Dec 19, 2012 2:55 PM CST

Chicago Prosecutor Anita Alvarez Blasts ‘One-Sided’ Segment of ‘60 Minutes’ in Letter to CBS Chief

Skewered in a 60 Minutes segment about wrongful convictions that was broadcast Sunday, Chicago’s top state-court prosecutor complained in a letter to the chairman of CBS News that she was unfairly portrayed in selective clips from a lengthy interview that took place six months ago. The CBS news program segment,…

Dec 14, 2012 6:31 PM CST

Chicago Lawyer Settles with Southwest Airlines in Class Action over Rescinded Free-Drink Coupons

Updated: A Chicago lawyer who sued Southwest Airlines over a change to its free-drink coupon policy has agreed to a settlement valued at up to $58 million. The class action suit by Adam Levitt had claimed Southwest breached a contract with passengers when it decided in 2010 that it would…

Dec 12, 2012 5:23 PM CST

7th Circuit Strikes Illinois Concealed-Carry Ban, Gives State 180 Days to Revise Gun Law

Saying that the U.S. Supreme Court has recognized a right to bear arms for self-defense, which can be just as necessary outside the home as in one’s home, a divided three-judge panel of a federal appeals court in Chicago has struck down as unconstitutional an Illinois law that prohibits most…

Dec 11, 2012 9:29 PM CST

Illinois Man Pleads Guilty in Plot to Abduct Lawyer for Ransom

An Illinois man has pleaded guilty to solicitation of a crime of violence in a plot to abduct a downstate lawyer for ransom. Brett Nash pleaded guilty on Tuesday, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Alton Telegraph and the Associated Press report. His target is described as a onetime corporate lawyer…

Dec 5, 2012 5:08 PM CST

Divorce Lawyer, Who Plotted to Kill Ex-Client While Dating the Man’s Ex-Girlfriend, Gets 8.5 Years

Once a promising young partner at a matrimonial law firm in suburban Chicago, Jason W. Smiekel was sentenced Tuesday to eight and a half years in federal prison after pleading guilty earlier this year to plotting to hire a hit man to kill an ex-client’s former girlfriend. Smiekel, 30, began…

Dec 5, 2012 2:55 PM CST

Illinois Judge Facing Disciplinary Action over Viewing Porn at Work Admits Longtime Addiction

An Illinois judge facing disciplinary charges for viewing pornography on his courthouse computer has tearfully admitted being addicted to porn since childhood. “I used pornography as a crutch to deal with my feelings of inadequacy,” Will County Judge Joseph C. Polito told the Illinois Courts Commission at a hearing Thursday,…

Nov 30, 2012 9:40 PM CST

Partners OK Latest Mega-Merger; Dentons Will Have Nearly 2,500 Attorneys, Be Set Up as Swiss Verein

A three-way merger of major law firms was approved Wednesday by the partners involved, setting the stage for SNR Denton, Salans and Fraser Milner Casgrain to combine early next year. The new megafirm, which will be known as Dentons, will have more than 2,500 attorneys and professionals, making it the…

Nov 28, 2012 8:25 PM CST

Ex BigLaw Partner Who Lied on Child’s School Financial Aid Applications Is Disbarred

An Illinois lawyer has been disbarred by the state supreme court for misrepresenting his income on his child’s private school financial aid applications, in order to qualify for $22,830 in assistance over an approximately four-year period. In addition to providing falsified copies of his tax returns to the Francis W.…

Nov 27, 2012 6:22 PM CST

Colo. Government Attorney Who Liked Good Suits Helps Chicago Teens Dress for Success

Once upon a time, a conservative, well-tailored suit was not only a professional plus but a virtual job requirement for a successful lawyer, and Michael Kelly’s dad liked to dress well. Robert M. Kelly was an assistant city and county attorney in Denver County, Colo., for nearly 40 years, and…

Nov 26, 2012 9:12 PM CST

Supreme Court Gives Nod to Citizens Who Record Police, Amidst Reports of Multiple Arrests

The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to review a federal appeals court decision finding it unconstitutional to enforce an Illinois state law that makes it a felony to videotape police officers working in public if a microphone is turned on. The law had been challenged by the American Civil Liberties…

Nov 26, 2012 6:42 PM CST

Chicago Judge Who Asked About Mystery Cases in Federal Court Resigns, Complains of ‘Persecution’

A veteran Chicago judge on medical leave who made headlines by twice appearing in federal court recently and seeking information about cases against her that apparently may not exist has given up her job. In a one-sentence letter to the Illinois Supreme Court last Friday, Judge Susan McDunn, 57, resigned…

Nov 15, 2012 9:27 PM CST

Judge Barred from Courthouse Wins Re-Election, Presses Insanity Defense in Battery Case

A judge in suburban Markham, Ill., has won a retention election even though she has been suspended since March and barred from entering Cook County courthouses without a police escort. Cook County Judge Cynthia Brim was suspended by a panel of supervising judges in March after she was charged with…

Nov 8, 2012 3:53 PM CST