Chicago Area

Results from 1st Circuit judicial elections and retentions for the General Election on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014. All Cook County Judges were retained. John J. Mahoney won the 4th Subcircuit vacancy and James Paul Pieczonka won the 12th Subcircuit vacancy.

Illinois Supreme Court Justice Mary Jane Theis announced on Tuesday an application process for two countywide vacancies in the Cook County Circuit Court.

It is believed to be the first time an open application process has been used in the Supreme Court appointment for at-large judicial vacancies in Cook County. Justice Theis currently uses an open application process in her recommended appointments to subcircuits in Cook County.

Join us in Chicago on November 7th for a look at seven different practice areas and how to successfully handle these types of cases! Practitioners working in the civil litigation arena need to stay up to date on a number of legal topics, including construction accidents, insurance issues, medical malpractice, employment law, government liability, vehicular collision, and foreclosure actions. Attorneys and law students with all levels of experience who attend this half-day seminar will gain a better understanding of how to handle cases from each of these areas and learn how to: obtain necessary discovery; handle insurance coverage disputes and declaratory judgments; identify proper parties in a medical malpractice claim; address non-compete and whistleblower issues; present liability and damage issues in motor vehicle collision cases; represent a client undergoing foreclosure actions; and much more!

The seminar is presented by the ISBA Civil Practice & Procedure Section and qualifies for 3.50 hours MCLE credit.

Click here for more information and to register.

Longtime Elgin attorney John E. Juergensmeyer, who was killed in a small plane crash Sunday night near Plano, was remembered as an energetic man with a passion for social causes.

Juergensmeyer, 80, who had a pilot's license for about 35 years, was flying a small plane while coming back from visiting his older brother at a nursing home in Carlinville, Illinois, his widow, Betty Juergensmeyer said.

The twin-engine turbo prop passenger plane crashed at about 9:45 p.m. in an open field at 15900 Griswold Springs Road in Kendall County, about 60 miles southwest of Chicago, the Illinois State Police said. Juergensmeyer was part owner of the plane, his wife said.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash. ABC 7 reported a helicopter with night vision found the plane in a cornfield.

An autopsy will be conducted Tuesday, the Kendall County coroner's office said.

Juergensmeyer made the 90-minute trip to visit his brother about once a month, his widow said.

Her husband was passionate about his family and about Wesley United Methodist Church, she said.

The couple, married for 51 years, have two daughters, Margaret and Frances. They met when he was in law school and she was in graduate school, Betty Juergensmeyer said.

"He was type A," she said. "Very energetic. Very driven. Outgoing and passionate."