An Illinois State Bar Association special committee has issued a 64-page report that addresses the serious funding crisis facing Illinois courts. “The long-term goal should be more than just alleviating the funding crisis,” said ISBA President John E. Thies, of Urbana. “Restoring courts to their proper place as a co-equal branch of government will return to the citizens of Illinois far more than the amount invested.”In June 2012, Thies appointed a Special Committee on Fair and Impartial Courts, co-chaired by Illinois Circuit Judge Patricia P. Golden (Ret.), of West Dundee, and Illinois Appellate Court Justice James M. Wexstten, of Mt. Vernon. Their report and recommendations, which were accepted on May 17 at a meeting of the ISBA Board of Governors in Galena, will be voted on by the ISBA’s policy-making Assembly when it convenes on June 22.According to the report, “The ability of the courts to deliver fair, timely and professional service has been degraded over the last dozen years by three trends: unpredictable budgets, cuts in real allocations, and disproportionate cuts. Funding cuts have affected all aspects of the judicial process.”To identify the areas of special concern, the committee surveyed the chief judges of each judicial district in Illinois, as well as practicing lawyers. They then identified several problem areas and made recommendations that include the following:

The deadline for making your room reservation for the ISBA Annual Meeting is Wednesday, May 22 at the ISBA Headquarters Hotel – Grand Geneva Resort & Spa.To make your room reservation at the Grand Geneva, please call 855.833.5345 and reference reservation code #7524VF or indicate you are attending the ISBA Annual Meeting. The room rate is $175 (single/double) plus resort fee and tax. A deposit on first night's lodging is required. Please note: It is strongly advised that golf tee times be booked in advance of the meeting to secure a spot on the courses.More information on the 137th Annual Meeting is available at www.isba.org/annual

Asked and AnsweredBy John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMCQ. We are a 4 attorney firm in Columbus, Ohio. Three of our partners are in their 60s and contemplating their exit strategies. We have a very profitable high profile practice and have been approached by a couple of very large firms concerning possible merger. We believe that this would be our best exit strategy. What mistakes have you seen other firms similar to ours make that we should avoid?

ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews bills in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. In this episode he covers Tort cases and settlement problems (Senate Bill 1912), Filing fee increase (House Bill 2327), Visitation (House Bill 2992), Fraudulent real estate documents (House Bill 2832), Access to Justice Act (House Bill 3111), Collection procedures (Senate Bill 1044), UM coverage (Senate Bill 1898) and FOIA (House Bill 2747). More information on each bill is available below the video.Tort cases and settlement problems. Senate Bill 1912 (Raoul, D-Chicago; Sims, D-Chicago) amends the Code of Civil Procedure to create an enforcement mechanism for cases that settle but the defendant won’t comply with the settlement. It is limited to cases seeking money damages involving personal injury, wrongful death, or tort action. It requires a settling defendant pay all sums due to the plaintiff within 21 days of tender of all applicable documents required under this new Section.