Practice News

The Illinois Supreme Court announced today the impending launch of a Court-Based Rental Assistance Program (CBRAP) available to tenants and landlords across the state (outside of Cook County) starting on September 15. Cook County will be operating its own court-based rental assistance program slated to launch in early October with direct funding from the federal government.

On July 20, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held in United States v. Ruth that Illinois defines cocaine more broadly than the federal government. Because the Illinois definition of cocaine covers more than the corresponding federal definition, prior Illinois cocaine convictions can no longer be used to enhance a federal drug defendant’s mandatory minimum sentence. In his September Illinois Bar Journal article, “Cocaine Isn’t What It Used to Be,” Thomas Drysdale explores how sentencing enhancements are built into federal drug laws, how and when those enhancements can be applied, why Illinois cocaine convictions are no longer predicate offenses after United States v. Ruth, and what the potential consequences of Ruth will be going forward.

The Illinois Supreme Court will ride the circuit, virtually, this month in conjunction with schools in the 2nd Judicial District. The Supreme Court will hear arguments in two cases starting at 10:15 a.m., on Thursday, September 23, 2021. Students and teachers have been invited to watch the proceedings online at https://livestream.com/blueroomstream/events/9824391.

Yes, it can be challenging for smaller law firms and solo attorneys lacking a tech staff to keep on top of the latest in everything from videoconferencing, to social media, to running a practice virtually. But lawyers don’t need a lot of technological expertise to expand their digital toolkits. The cover article in September’s Illinois Bar Journal discusses how practitioners and smaller law firms can better serve clients by staying abreast of the latest technology. Technology is one of the themes of the ISBA’s annual Solo & Small Firm Conference (SSFC) on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 and the IBJ interviewed several of the conference’s presenters for this article.