Other initiatives for non-English speaking persons include website now available in 71 foreign languages; bi-lingual signageIn an effort to bridge the gap between language barriers, the Circuit Court of Cook County is installing an over-the-phone interpretation service for persons who speak little or no English as part of its new Court Access Initiative (CAI). The service will help people navigate through the Circuit Court in a variety of ways: helping people without lawyers find courtrooms or linking them with a court-based legal self-help desk are just two examples. In conjunction with the Access to Justice Commission of the Illinois Supreme Court, the Circuit Court’s goal of the CAI is to improve the overall experience for non-English speaking people attending court.Circuit Court of Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans announced starting today, the CAI will begin at the Richard J. Daley Center information desks and then will ultimately be installed in all courthouses in the coming months. Illinois JusticeCorps volunteers already are stationed at the Daely Center information desks and over-the-phone interpretation services will be provided by LanguageLine Solutions which was selected through a Request for Proposal (RFP) process.

Governor Quinn has signed a bill that requires defendants in most civil actions to provide plaintiffs with an executed release within 14 days of a written settlement agreement.The law requires such a defendant to pay all sums due under the settlement agreement to the plaintiff within 30 days of when the defendant tendered its release to the opposing party. If a defendant fails to timely pay the money damages, the plaintiff may obtain a judgment against the defendant in the amount set forth in the executed release, plus costs and interest. Find out more in the September IBJ.

The Judicial Conference of the United States has authorized the appointment of a full-time United States magistrate judge for the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois. The official location for the position will be Springfield, Illinois. Full-time magistrate judges are appointed to eight-year terms of office by the judges of each respective United States district court.The duties of the position are demanding and wide-ranging, such as: 1) conducting most preliminary proceedings in criminal cases; 2) trial and disposition of misdemeanor cases; 3) conducting various pretrial matters and evidentiary proceedings on delegation from a district judge; and 4) trial and disposition of civil cases upon consent of the litigants. The basic authority of the United States magistrate judge is specified in 28 U.S.C. § 636.To be qualified for appointment as a U.S. magistrate judge, an applicant must:

The 2013 ISBA Solo & Small Firm Conference will be held on Oct. 3-5 at the Westin Northwest Chicago in Itasca. Earn up to 16.5 hours of MCLE credit, including all 6 hours of required PMCLE credit.Register by Sept. 6 at www.isba.org/soloconference to receive the Early Bird discount.