The Bar News

Bar News Sections

Illinois Supreme Court

  • August 28, 2013 | Practice News
    Illinois Supreme Court to convene in Chicago

    Believed to be 1st time court will hear full term outside Springfield

    The Supreme Court will convene for its September 2013 Term in the Michael A. Bilandic Building, 160 N. LaSalle Street, Chicago. The first oral arguments are scheduled for Tuesday, September 10 in the 18th floor Courtroom.

    Traditionally, the Supreme Court convenes to hear oral arguments in Springfield. It is believed that this is the first time that a full Term of the Court will be held outside the 105-year-old building since it opened in 1908.

    Gov. Pat Quinn announced June 6 the release of $12.6 million to rehabilitate the historic Illinois Supreme Court Building in Springfield. During the construction period which began June 17, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Chicago. Rehabilitation is scheduled to be completed at this time next year. The Springfield office of the Supreme Court Clerk and other Springfield Supreme Court staff moved to an interim location at the Herndon Building, 421 East Capitol Avenue in Springfield. Telephone numbers remain the same.

    This will not be the first time that the Supreme Court has heard oral arguments outside Springfield. Five years ago, the Supreme Court heard two oral arguments at the Mt. Vernon courthouse as part of events marking the 150th anniversary of the court building and the 2009 bicentennial celebration of Abraham Lincoln's birth. That courthouse was used by the Supreme Court from 1857 until 1897, when the Court was consolidated in Springfield. The Court then met in the current state Capitol building until the Supreme Court Building at its present location opened nine years later.

    1 comment (Most recent August 29, 2013)
  • August 16, 2013 | Practice News
    Gov. Quinn signs supreme court initiative into law

    Under the leadership of Chief Justice Thomas L. Kilbride, the Illinois Supreme Court established the Access to Justice Commission in June 2012 with the goal of removing barriers and increasing the ease of interacting with courts by persons who can’t afford lawyers to represent their interests and needs.

    1 comment (Most recent August 16, 2013)
  • August 5, 2013 | Practice News
    Appellate Record to be accessible electronically in Lake County

    Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas L. Kilbride announced Monday that Lake County will participate in the pilot project that allows attorneys, parties and appellate justices to view, access, and work electronically from the official record of cases on appeal in the Second Judicial District.

    The Order is effective immediately and allows the electronic transfer of the official record of cases on appeal filed after October 1, 2013 in Lake County.

    "Lake County is the Second Judicial District's most populous county; the appeals process will be greatly streamlined with the trial record being filed electronically," Chief Justice Kilbride said. "Since the project's launch in 2011, cost savings and greater efficiencies in the Illinois court system have been demonstrated through the increased use of technology.

    "The Court is grateful for the continued cooperation between the courts and the circuit clerks in this endeavor."
    Since he became Chief Justice in October 2010, Justice Kilbride has pledged to make the Illinois courts more user friendly by implementing improvements in technology. Since then, the Supreme Court has opened avenues for e-filing, creating a special E-Business Committee in June 2011; announcing statewide standards and new and amended Supreme Court rules that will allow all courts in Illinois to begin electronic filing of civil cases in October 2012; and greatly expanding the pilot project that allows the e-filing of the trial record in the Appellate courts.

  • August 1, 2013 | Practice News
    Quick take on Thurday's Illinois Supreme Court opinion on "mailbox rule"

    Gruszeczka v. The Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission

    By Karen Kies DeGrand, Donohue Brown Mathewson & Smyth LLC

    As the Illinois Supreme Court moves the state toward electronic filing, here the court implicitly acknowledged the continuing relevance of the “mailbox rule.” The issue arose in the context of obtaining circuit court review of a decision of the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission. The supreme court interpreted section 19(f)(1) of the statute and held that mailing the requisite documents commences circuit court review and satisfies the strict statutory compliance needed to vest subject matter jurisdiction in the circuit court. See Workers’ Compensation Act, 820 ILCS 305/19(f)(1) (West 2008). Thus, mailing the documents within 20 days, rather than obtaining file-stamped documents by the clerk within that time frame, “commenced” the action under the statute.

    3 comments (Most recent August 2, 2013)
  • July 31, 2013 | Practice News
    New supreme court rules a boon to limited-scope representation

    The Illinois Supreme Court has adopted procedures for lawyers engaging in limited-scope representation on behalf of clients who choose not to, or can't afford to, hire legal counsel for all aspects of a case.

    Effective July 1, amended Rules 11, 13, and 137 allow lawyers to file "limited scope" appearances and represent clients for part, but not all, of a civil lawsuit or transaction.

    The new rules also address "ghost-writing" by lawyers who assist clients in drafting or reviewing documents without actually signing the document or appearing in court. Find out more in the August IBJ.

  • July 1, 2013 | Practice News
    Supreme Court amends rules to expand mediation in child custody cases and to improve language access for litigants in mediation

    The Illinois Supreme Court announced Monday that it has amended rules that would expand mediation for child custody cases to include requests by a custodial parent to move a minor child to another state.

    Mediation programs for child custody and visitation cases have been a requirement for each judicial circuit in Illinois through Supreme Court Rule 905.

    1 comment (Most recent July 2, 2013)
  • June 28, 2013 | Practice News
    2 Rule 138 provisions deferred until Jan. 1

    Illinois Supreme Court Rule 138, amended to protect against identity theft and the disclosure of sensitive information through electronic filing, goes into effect Monday, July 1 with two of its provisions being deferred.

    A requirement that birth dates and the names of minor individuals be excluded from documents in civil cases has been deferred until Jan. 1, 2014. The delay will allow attorneys and state agencies that handle high volumes of affected cases additional time to adapt to the new requirements. In the interim, the Illinois Supreme Court Rules Committeee will schedule a public hearing on the deferred provisions.

    In response to additional inquiries from judges, practitioners, clerks and other court partners, the following clarifications are offered:

  • June 25, 2013 | People
    Retired Justice John L. Nickels 1931-2013

    John L. Nickels was raised on a dairy farm in rural Illinois, started his education in a one-room country schoolhouse at the age of four and rose to become a Justice on the Illinois Supreme Court.

    Justice Nickels passed away in the company of his family on Monday after a long illness. He had served on Illinois’ highest court from December 1992 to his retirement in December 1998, earning a reputation as a quiet, private man but one who was unafraid to express his fidelity to fundamental beliefs and to call out publicly those he felt had abused their trust. Justice Nickels was 82.

    "He was a gentle and most hospitable man," Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas L. Kilbride said. "He carried a wealth of compassion and internal resolve to bring out the best in all of us -- to be respectful professionals. He was a real role model and epitomized that it was quite acceptable 'to agree to disagree.' "

    1 comment (Most recent June 28, 2013)
  • June 18, 2013 | Practice News
    Illinois Supreme Court announces new measures to improve legal services for disadvantaged

    Chief Justice Thomas L. Kilbride and the Illinois Supreme Court announced Tuesday several important new measures to improve equal access to justice for all of the people of Illinois, and especially for the poor and vulnerable.

    1 comment (Most recent June 21, 2013)
  • June 14, 2013 | Practice News
    Illinois Supreme Court amends rules allowing limited scope representation

    Move is expected to lower fee costs for clients of limited means

    Chief Justice Thomas L. Kilbride announced Friday that the Illinois Supreme Court has approved a proposal designed to lessen the legal costs in civil cases for clients of limited means.

    The proposal deals with a concept known as "limited scope representation" which more than 20 other states also permit. Limited scope representation allows attorneys to provide paid legal services on a portion of a client's legal matter, rather than seeing it through from beginning to end. By providing services, specifically limited by agreement between the lawyer and the client, total legal fees should be more affordable for the client.

    The proposal, first made several years ago by the Lawyers Trust Fund, is contained in amendments to three Supreme Court rules. It had the formal support of the Illinois State Bar Association, the Chicago Bar Association and the Illinois Judges Association, who formed a joint task force to study the matter in detail.

    2 comments (Most recent June 17, 2013)