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Law Day 2021 Advancing the Rule of Law Now
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Immanuel Baptist Church at 1443 W. Roosevelt Road in Chicago. A federal judge denied the city’s motion to strike Reverend Jonathan W. Rich’s report and bar his testimony in a suit filed by the church. The suit claims the city unfairly targeted it with a zoning ordinance that requires religious assemblies to have at least one off-street parking space for every eight seats in their main auditorium. – Jordyn Reiland/Chicago Daily Law Bulletin

Clergyman gets OK to testify as expert

A church that alleges Chicago’s parking regulations have hampered its ability to thrive will try to bolster its case with the testimony of a clergyman who has overseen the establishment of 39 churches and helped dozens of others design peaceful “ministry environments.”
By Patricia Manson
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CBA’s Vanguard Awards honor 14 legal standouts

The Chicago Bar Association hosted the Vanguard Awards ceremony last week to honor individuals who have made the law “more accessible to and more reflective” of the Chicago community.
By Jessie M. Molloy
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Judicial nominees, perhaps a potential justice, face Senate

WASHINGTON — Ketanji Brown Jackson is heading to Capitol Hill for an audition of sorts. Lawmakers are grilling her about her nomination to become a federal appeals court judge. But if the hearing goes well, the 50-year-old could someday get a callback for an even bigger role: Supreme Court justice.
By Jessica Gresko and Kevin Freking
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Suit over online classes at IIT denied

An Illinois Institute of Technology student whose classes went virtual because of the COVID-19 pandemic does not have a case against the school for breach of contract, a federal judge held.
By Patricia Manson
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Steakhouse fails to get rent suit tossed

A dispute over the decision by Ruth’s Chris Steak House to shut down its Chicago location permanently will continue to be fought out in federal court.
By Patricia Manson

Generation ESQ

Bond Fund staff attorney adapts to evolving role

Less than two years after graduating from Harvard Law School Jianing Xie is putting her legal skills to the test in a rapidly evolving sector of the state’s legal system: securing bond for low-income defendants.
By Jessie M. Molloy

Williams’ win sets her on path to ISBA presidency

Sonni Choi Williams won the Illinois State Bar Association’s Third Vice Presidential election on Tuesday, putting her in line to become the first Korean American woman to lead the statewide organization.
By Jessie M. Molloy

Family law group, IBF partner to provide relief for lawyers

The Illinois Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers announced a partnership with the Illinois Bar Foundation Monday to provide assistance to attorneys facing financial hardship during the pandemic.
By Jessie M. Molloy

FALA launches initiative to assist frontline workers with power of attorney documents

The Filipino American Lawyers Association of Chicago this month has launched a pro bono initiative to provide power of attorney documents for frontline workers.
By Jessie M. Molloy

Campanelli joins Lawndale Christian Legal Center

Lawndale Christian Legal Center has named former Cook County Public Defender Amy P. Campanelli its vice president of restorative justice.
By Jessie M. Molloy

Courts & Cases

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Contributors

Trial Notebook

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Plaintiffs’ standing justified nationwide class

A nationwide class action complaint against Caterpillar Inc. contends the company installed defective cylinder liners in its C-18 and C-32 engines. But the three named plaintiffs purchased Caterpillar equipment with C-18 engines. Because they didn’t buy C-32 machines, Caterpillar argued that claims involving this model should be dismissed based on lack of standing under Article III of the U.S. Constitution. This issue generated split decisions from district judges in Illinois. Caterpillar’s alternative argument — relying on Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(f) (“The court may strike from a pleading an insufficient defense or any redundant, immaterial, impertinent, or scandalous matter”) — asked U.S. District Judge Joan B. Gottschall to strike the class action allegations based on alleged choice-of-law and manageability problems with a potential class that has members in 50 states.
By Steven P. Garmisa

Legal History

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May 6

See if you know what happened on this date in Legal History with Karen Conti.
By Karen Conti

Post-Pandemic Employer

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Follow all COVID safety protocols with employees, vaccinated or not

As of May 1, more than 31% of all Illinois residents were fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and roughly 33% of Cook County residents were fully vaccinated. As employers debate mandating, incentivizing or encouraging their employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, they also need to decide how their workplaces will operate once most or all employees have received the vaccine.
By Laura A. Balson

Prosecution and Procedure

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Battlefield of criminal contempt has well-intentioned casualties

The battlefield of criminal contempt is littered with well-intentioned casualties. Here is a roadmap to avoid the land mines.
By David J. Robinson

Opening Statement

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The Oscars finally embrace diversity

This has been an interesting week. I got a glimpse of what our entertainment world will look like post-pandemic and after a year of becoming socially aware of our racial inequities.
By Julian J. Frazin

Opening Statement

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HBO Max docuseries goes deep on history of white supremacy

It was one of those strange yet interesting coincidences.
By Julian J. Frazin

Opening Statement

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Crouch’s work shines online at Chicago Shakespeare Theater

I have seen two productions of playwright Tim Crouch at Chicago Shakespeare Theater at Navy Pier and found them both extraordinary.
By Julian J. Frazin

Opening Statement

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A special rendition of a well-known story in ‘Sorcerer’s Apprentice’

In 1797, the famous German author, philosopher and poet Johan Wolfgang von Goethe wrote the poem “Der Zauberlehrling,” known in English as “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.”
By Julian J. Frazin

Lex Sportiva

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Sports betting app targeted for unfair, deceptive trade practices

In 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court determined that the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, which ultimately prohibited sports gambling in the United States, was unconstitutional. Murphy v. NCAA, 138 S. Ct. 146 (2018). SCOTUS held that PAPSA violated the anti-commandeering doctrine because PAPSA essentially dictated what state legislatures could and could not do. In the few years since Murphy, sports gambling has already been legalized by several states nationwide.
By Timothy Liam Epstein
All Contributors

Social Scene

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Women Everywhere court tours go virtual

Nonprofit organization Women Everywhere and Chicago Public Schools virtually hosted its 22nd annual court tours and scholarship projects on April 20 and April 29. Chief U.S. District Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer opened the program, which hosted about 400 high school girls from more than 20 CPS high schools, discussing the courts and career opportunities in the legal industry. Photo courtesy of Women Everywhere
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IBF Q&A with authors in legal profession

1st District Appellate Court Justice David W. Ellis (top left) and Chicago-based attorney Christie Tate (top center) were panelists on the Illinois Bar Foundation’s Virtual Author’s Q&A Wednesday. The event was moderated by John McNally (top right), managing editor of Chicago Lawyer magazine, a sister publication of the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin. Tate and Ellis discussed their forays into a writing career while maintaining a legal career, their creative process and where they find inspiration. Both authors have graced The New York Times Best Seller list. Zoom screenshot
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YLS CBA’s Got Talent

McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP Partner Lawrence H. Aaronson, along with Kermit the Frog, won the Chicago Bar Association Young Lawyers Section’s first-ever CBA’s Got Talent competition with a rendition of “Rainbow Connection.” The event raised more than $18,000 for the Edward J. Lewis II Lawyers in the Classroom Program. Tiffani Watson, the program director, plans to use the money to continue the civic education program that links volunteer lawyers with teachers and children in grades 2-8 on their constitutional rights under the law. Zoom screenshot courtesy of the Chicago Bar Association.
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Appellate advocates talk diversity

From top left: Assistant Appellate Defender Beverly Jones; Northwestern Pritzker School of Law Associate Dean of Inclusion & Engagement Shannon P. Bartlett; Perkins Coie Associate Sopen Shah; Northwestern Clinical Assistant Professor of Law David M. Shapiro; Jones Day Of Counsel and former 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Ann Claire Williams; Appellate Project founder Juvaria Khan; and O’Melveny & Myers Partner Brad Garcia discuss the importance of diversifying the appellate bar. Photo courtesy of Peggy Li of the American Constitution Society.

Special Publications

Salute! Women in Law

Salute! Women in Law

The inaugural class for Salute! Women in Law

Meet the exceptional women in law recognized in our first Salute! awards.
40 Under Forty 2020

40 Under Forty 2020

Law Bulletin Media announces the Class of 2020

Success at any age is impressive. But to achieve it at an early age is even more of a feat. Congratulations to 40 Under Forty honorees for 2020.
JVR Trial Lawyer Excellence Awards

JVR Trial Lawyer Excellence Awards

Celebrating 60 years

Over 300 trial attorneys and Illinois judges were in attendance last October as the Jury Verdict Reporter, a division of Law Bulletin Media, hosted its annual reception and awards for Trial Lawyer Excellence. Fifty-four professionals from both sides of the trial bar received individual Trial Lawyer Excellence awards in one of 17 categories. Please click through and enjoy this review of the Trial Lawyer Excellence Awards.
See all special publications

Career Center

Career Center Job Listings

Photo gallery with Top Stories

Immanuel Baptist Church at 1443 W. Roosevelt Road in Chicago. A federal judge denied the city’s motion to strike Reverend Jonathan W. Rich’s report and bar his testimony in a suit filed by the church. The suit claims the city unfairly targeted it with a zoning ordinance that requires religious assemblies to have at least one off-street parking space for every eight seats in their main auditorium.
May
04
Tue

Clergyman gets OK to testify as expert
Chicago Bar Association President Maryam Ahmad kicks off the group’s 2021 Vanguard Awards event Wednesday. Bar associations throughout the Chicagoland area selected members whose work has made significant impact in the legal marketplace and the region. YouTube screenshot
May
03
Mon

CBA’s Vanguard Awards honor 14 legal standouts
Candace Jackson-Akiwumi, nominated to be a 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judge, is sworn in before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on pending judicial nominations, Wednesday on Capitol Hill in Washington.
Apr
28
Wed

Judicial nominees, perhaps a potential justice, face Senate
A photo of Illinois Institute of Technology’s Main Building and Armour building. On Friday, a federal judge tossed a potential class-action suit for breach of contract because of the stopping of in-person learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Apr
27
Tue

Suit over online classes at IIT denied
The now vacant Ruth’s Chris Steak House at 431 N. Dearborn St. in Chicago. A federal judge denied a motion by the steakhouse for judgment on the pleadings in a lawsuit accusing it of breach of contract for failing to pay its rent.
Apr
22
Thu

Steakhouse fails to get rent suit tossed
In this Nov. 6, 2020, file photo the Supreme Court is seen at sundown in Washington. The Supreme Court says it will not hear a case out of Pennsylvania related to the 2020 election, a case that had lingered while similar election challenges had already been rejected by the justices. The high court directed a lower court to dismiss the case as moot.
Apr
20
Tue

Supreme Court rejects lingering 2020 election challenge case