Contributors

Running out of cash and tired of getting jerked around with slow-pay gimmicks by the “managed care organizations” that receive per person monthly fees from the State of Illinois to handle healthcare for 80% of the folks enrolled in the state’s Medicaid program, Saint Anthony Hospital sued Theresa Eagleson, director of the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services. Dedicated to serving the poor on Chicago’s west side, the hospital — invoking Sec. 1983 of the 1871 Civil Rights Act — alleged the state deprived it of its rights under the Medicaid Act by failing to make sure MCOs complied with statutory requirements for prompt payment of claims from healthcare providers.

Imagine: You just deposed the opposing party and were rewarded with a significant admission, or perhaps the plaintiff was unable to articulate basic facts underpinning the claim. You receive the errata sheet expecting minor corrections, like fixing the spelling of a name, only to find that opposing counsel has rewritten the deponent’s testimony — smoothing out sentences, adding new facts, or otherwise changing the meaning of answers.

Following recent decisions by the 8th and 11th Circuits — and arguments last Friday in the 2nd and 9th Circuits — a panel made up of 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judges Diane P. Wood, David F. Hamilton and Daniel A. Manion heard argument in four cases, including one that was three consolidated cases, dealing generally with the issue of whether there is insurance coverage under property policies as a result of COVID-19 government closure orders.

Over the last several years, we have often discussed the issue of the shadow docket, a term coined by University of Chicago Law School Professor William Baude to refer to the increasing use by the U.S. Supreme Court of decision-making that evades the normal appellate process and in which the court issues decisions without oral arguments or without full briefing by the parties.

The transactions I like handling the least are the investor deals. Not because of the fees, but because they are often five times the trouble than larger transactions.

When talking to people about the enforceability of non-compete agreements, I hear two very common misconceptions. First, that the covenants are never enforceable. Also that they are always enforceable. Neither is correct.

For many years now, Chicago has been frequented by a bunch of clowns. And this is not a political commentary — I am referring to real clowns with painted faces, ridiculous costumes and flamboyant behavior.

Olympic gymnast Simone Biles earned $5 million a year in corporate sponsorship deals from a slew of household names including United Airlines, Visa and Uber Eats. Swimmer Katie Ledecky nets $3 million a year from brands such as Adidas and Ralph Lauren, among others.

Finally, after more than a year and a half of the pandemic theater blackout, I received an invitation for a press opening night to a live stage production at Theatre Wit, 1229 W. Belmont.

Even with a surge of the COVID-19 delta variant dampening our hopes of finally ending the blackout on live theater, we can still look forward to an array of new streamed series filling the many available platforms.

The legendary, affable New York Yankee catcher Yogi Berra had a way with words. When he would say, “It ain’t over til it’s over,” he meant to encourage those on the brink of defeat not to give up.

Sports has always been a good subject for motion pictures, and baseball has certainly been at the top of the list. And that’s not only for the excitement of the game, but often for the sentimentality involved as well.