Illinois Supreme Court
The Illinois Supreme Court on Tuesday heard arguments in a case alleging the state’s 2019 law that consolidated nearly 650 individual police and firefighter pension funds actually hurt retirees by diluting their voting power. The nearly three-dozen pensioners and 17 individual pension funds that sued over the law have already lost twice in lower court.…
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SPRINGFIELD – In 1946, the Illinois Supreme Court heard a case that would eventually become a landmark in American legal history. The public school district in Champaign, like many other districts in Illinois at the time, allowed a group of local religious leaders to use their schools to teach elective classes in religion and openly…
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SPRINGFIELD – The state’s ban on high-powered weapons and high-capacity magazines passed a state constitutional test Friday as it awaits a potentially more daunting challenge on the federal stage. In a split decision, the Democratically controlled Illinois Supreme Court ruled 4-3 that the law characterizing dozens of firearms as “assault weapons” and preventing their manufacture…
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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Illinois is set to become the first state in the nation to eliminate cash bail after the state Supreme Court justices ruled Tuesday that a landmark criminal justice reform law did not violate the state’s constitution. The opinion was released more than six months after the Pretrial Fairness Act was halted by…
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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Justice Lisa Holder White has announce she is running for a full term on the Supreme Court of Illinois. The Supreme Court appointed Holder White on July 7, 2022, to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Rita B. Garman. Holder White was sworn in as an Associate Judge for…
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SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Supreme Court is now deciding whether the state’s recently enacted assault weapons ban violates certain provisions of the Illinois Constitution. In March, a circuit court judge in Macon County sided with a group of plaintiffs led by state Rep. Dan Caulkins, R-Decatur, and declared the law unconstitutional. The state appealed directly…
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CHICAGO — In 2007, Reginald Lane shot and killed Jwonda Thurston, his pregnant girlfriend. For the murder, he was sentenced to life in prison, following state statute for someone who is found guilty of killing “more than one victim.” On Thursday, the Illinois Supreme Court heard arguments in Lane’s case, specifically around whether Lane was…
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PITTSFIELD, Ill. — The Illinois Supreme Court will not consider an appeal of the 2021 criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse convictions of Clayton G. Watts of Pittsfield, according to formal notification received by Pike County State’s Attorney Zachary Boren. In an order dated Dec. 15, 2022, the Illinois Court of Appeals for…
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The Illinois Supreme Court has denied a motion to disqualify two justices from hearing a challenge to the state’s new gun ban over perceived conflicts of interest. The two justices also declined to recuse themselves. Before Elizabeth Rochford and Mary O’Brien were elected to the Illinois Supreme Court in November 2022, Gov. J.B. Pritzker gave…
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QUINCY — Real world connections and experience are essential for lawyers to provide the service they need to their clients. Having these real world connections and experiences is why the Quincy University mock trial team welcomed the opportunity to talk Thursday afternoon with Illinois Supreme Court Justice Lisa Holder White. She was joined by Eugene…
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SPRINGFIELD – People who’ve been subject to fingerprinting, face or retinal scans as either employees or customers of Illinois companies have five years to file lawsuits if they believe the business violated a stringent state privacy law, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled this week. It’s the latest in a handful of cases that have reached…
Read Full Article SPRINGFIELD – An appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court regarding the constitutionality of a state law that would end cash bail appears to be at least two months away from resolution under a new timeline approved by the court Thursday. Attorney General Kwame Raoul filed the agreed motion setting the timeline for the high court’s appeal of…
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While a crocheted serpent took its place on the Capitol rotunda this week and the governor signed a pair of major bills passed in the recent veto session, history was happening on the Illinois Supreme Court. For the first time in its history, the state’s high court is made up of a majority of women…
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SPRINGFIELD – Justice Mary Jane Theis was sworn in Wednesday as chief justice of the Illinois Supreme Court, the fourth woman in the state’s history to hold the position. She’ll serve a three-year term replacing Justice Anne M. Burke, whose term as chief justice concluded Tuesday ahead of her planned retirement effective Nov. 30. Theis…
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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Justice Lisa Holder White and the Supreme Court of Illinois announced Thursday that Eighth Circuit Court Judge Amy Lannerd has been assigned as an appellate court justice in the Fourth District. Lannerd is being assigned to fill the vacancy created by the decision of Justice John W. Turner of Lincoln to not…
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SPRINGFIELD — Lisa Holder White was sworn in Thursday as the first Black woman to serve on the Illinois Supreme Court. Holder White, who previously served on the 4th District Court of Appeals, was chosen to succeed one of her mentors in the legal profession, retiring Justice Rita B. Garman, who broke many barriers herself as…
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SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Supreme Court has ruled that the public has no right to boat, fish or swim in small rivers that flow across private property, but two justices are urging the General Assembly to change that law. “The legislature should redefine navigability to be more inclusive because that would promote the State’s interest…
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SPRINGFIELD – In a 4-3 decision with a blistering dissent from the Republican minority, the Illinois Supreme Court declined to rule on a question of whether Illinois Firearm Owners Identification Act is unconstitutional. It was the second time the case of the People v. Vivian Brown came before the court and the second time the court declined…
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Decatur native will become first Black woman on Illinois Supreme Court SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Supreme Court announced Tuesday that 4th District Appellate Justice Lisa Holder White has been appointed to succeed Justice Rita Garman, making her the first Black woman to serve on the state’s high court. “Being appointed to the Illinois Supreme Court is…
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First downstate female judge has served on high court since 2001 SPRINGFIELD – Republican Illinois Supreme Court Justice Rita Garman announced Monday that she will retire on July 7, marking the end of a long legal career that has included 48 years as a jurist. She would have been up for retention this year, but…
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QUINCY — A Quincy attorney has been suspended for one year by the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission of the Supreme Court of Illinois. A case summary on the ARDC website said that, during a dissolution of marriage case, Roni VanAusdall came to an agreement with opposing counsel concerning parenting time, prepared a proposed order…
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The Illinois Supreme Court denied Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s appeal over his school mask mandates on Friday, determining that the lower court decisions were moot, vacating the temporary restraining order by the circuit court and remanding the case to the circuit court for further consideration. This decision likely brings to an end the litigation over mask mandates in…
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Motion to consolidate cases challenging mandatory vaccination program made to Illinois Supreme Court
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul has made a motion to the Illinois Supreme Court to consolidate several similar cases in Illinois counties into one that challenges the orders from the state of Illinois establishing a COVID-19 vaccination and testing program for school personnel, healthcare workers and state employees. A case involving employment claims from suspended…
Read Full Article By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinois SPRINGFIELD – State courts in Illinois are preparing to return to normal operations after nearly 16 months of operating under special rules brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Illinois Supreme Court on Wednesday issued two new rules that call for easing social distancing requirements and reimposing requirements for speedy…
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