The Bar News

Bar News Sections

Northern Illinois

  • February 16, 2018 | Practice News
    Quick Takes on Illinois Supreme Court Opinions Issued Friday, Feb. 16

    The Illinois Supreme Court handed down two opinions today, Friday, Feb. 16. The court considered whether the Cook County Circuit Court erroneously entered a finding of a good-faith settlement agreement under the Joint Tortfeasor Act in a personal injury action arising out of a car accident in Antonicelli v. Rodriguez. In People ex rel. Hartrich v. 2010 Harley-Davidson, the court addresses the application of the excessive fines clause of the Eighth Amendment to the civil forfeiture of personal property. Leading appellate attorneys Karen DeGrand and Joanne Driscoll summarize the cases below.

  • January 30, 2018 | ISBA News
    File Your Nominating Petitions for ISBA Election by Tomorrow

    The deadline to submit nominating petitions for the ISBA election is tomorrow, Wednesday Jan. 31, at 4:30 p.m. at either the Illinois Bar Center, 424 South 2nd Street, in Springfield, or the ISBA Office at 20 S. Clark Street, 9th Floor, Chicago.

    Members of the ISBA will elect a third vice president, six seats on the Board of Governors, and 22 seats on the Assembly in Cook County this spring.

  • January 26, 2018 | People
    ISBA Leaders Attend Reception in Winnebago

    ISBA leadership, including President Russell W. Hartigan, President-Elect James F. McCluskey, Second Vice President David B. Sosin, and Third Vice President Dennis J. Orsey, attended the Winnebago County Bar Association reception on Thursday, Jan. 25.

  • January 18, 2018 | People
    Hon. John J. Phillips 1947-2017
    John Thomas Phillips
    1 comment (Most recent March 8, 2018)
  • January 17, 2018 | Practice News
    Illinois Supreme Court Responds to E-Filing Extension Requests from DeKalb, DuPage, Madison, and McHenry Counties

    The Supreme Court of Illinois has issued four orders in response to mandatory e-filing extension requests from DeKalb, DuPage, Madison, and McHenry counties. DuPage County was granted an additional year to transition to the state's new electronic filing system.

  • January 2, 2018 | Practice News
    Mandatory E-Filing Deadline Extension Granted for Cook and Winnebago Counties

    The Supreme Court of Illinois has extended the Jan. 1, 2018, deadline to implement mandatory e-filing for all civil cases for Cook and Winnebago Counties. The request for an extension by Greene County was denied. 

    The Circuit Court of Cook County will have six more months to prepare for mandatory electronic filing, according to an Illinois Supreme Court order issued Friday, Dec. 22, 2017.  Through June 30, the county is allowed to continue permissive e-filing with a commitment to complete the full case management system integration by April 1. By May 1, Cook County must permit filings for all civil case types to be made on eFileIL. Read the order on the Illinois Courts website to see the full list of conditions.

    This extension comes after a request early last month from Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown to push back the start date a full year, stating that the county's vendor, Tyler Technologies, could not fully meet the deadline. The Circuit Clerk's office will work with Tyler to meet the extended deadline, including the testing of essential functionality.

  • January 2, 2018 | ISBA News
    Nominating Petitions Now Being Accepted for Upcoming ISBA Election

    In the spring, members of the ISBA will elect a third vice president, six seats on the Board of Governors, and 22 seats on the Cook County Assembly.

    One board seat is open in each of the following Areas: Cook County, Board Area 1 (circuit 18), Board Area 3 (Circuits 12, 13, 16, 21 and 23), Board Area 4 (circuits 10, 14, and 15), Board Area 6 (circuits 7, 8 and 9), and Board Area 8 (circuits 3 and 20).  

    Nominating petitions are now being accepted and must be filed by 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 31 at either the Illinois Bar Center, 424 South 2nd Street, in Springfield, or the ISBA Office at 20 S. Clark Street, 9th Floor, Chicago.

    Petitions must be physically submitted with original signatures. Petitions submitted via email or fax will not be accepted.

    Candidates should submit their biography and photo online.

    Questions regarding the filing of petitions should be directed to Kim Weaver, assistant to the executive director.

    Find out more on the ISBA Elections page.
     

  • December 20, 2017 | ISBA News
    Temporary ISBA Service Interruption Scheduled on Dec. 29-30

    All ISBA systems will be down due to electrical work beginning Friday, Dec. 29 at 8 a.m. until Saturday, Dec. 30 at 12 p.m. (noon). During this time the ISBA website will not be available. As a result you will also not be able to log into Fastcase, online CLE, and ISBA Central. Here is what you need to know and steps you can take to ensure continued service.

    Online CLE

    You will not be able to access online CLE at all during the outage. If you need to complete CLE credit before the end of the year, we strongly urge you to plan to finalize that before the outage. 

    ISBA Central Communities and Discussion Groups

    Discussion groups will still be available via email, but you will not be able to log into ISBA Central. (Note: if you are already logged into the ISBA website, you may be able to access ISBA Central by going to it directly at http://central.isba.org).

    Fastcase

    For members who need to access Fastcase during this time, please follow the instructions below.

  • December 18, 2017 | People
    Nancy Kasko Opens Family Law Practice in Warrenville

    ISBA member Nancy Kasko has started her own family law practice, named the Law Offices of Nancy Kasko, LLC. Her primary office is at 4320 Winfield Road, Suite 200, Warrenville, while her secondary office is conveniently located near the courthouse in Wheaton, at 2100 Manchester Road, Building C, Suite 1608.

    Nancy Kasko helps clients with a variety of issues related to divorce and family law, including: 

    • Division of marital property;
    • Allocation of parental responsibilities;
    • Child support and spousal support;
    • Post-divorce enforcement and modification;
    • Divorce mediation;
    • Name change orders; and
    • Adoption and guardianship.

    Kasko earned her J.D. in 2015 from the John Marshall Law School. She had previously worked in the finance industry for Fortune 500 companies such as Hewlett Packard and Westinghouse Electric. However, she wished to pursue a career in law, as her mother had before her.

    After graduation, Kasko worked as an associate attorney for a suburban Chicago firm, focusing on family law. She is certified as a mediator by the Center for Conflict Resolution and has experience resolving civil disputes in Cook County. During her career, she has accumulated several honors, including a perfect 10 rating on Avvo and being named one of the 10 Best Female Attorneys of 2017 by the American Institute of Family Law Attorneys.

  • December 15, 2017 | People
    Robert Chapman Buckley 1923-2017

    Robert Chapman Buckley, retired Justice of the Illinois Appellate Court, was born on August 14, 1923, in Canton, Illinois to Peter Mark and Marguerite nee Waugh Buckley. He died Tuesday, November 28, 2017, surrounded by family in Arlington Heights, Illinois.

    Justice Buckley attended St. Mel High School in Chicago. After attending Morton Junior College, Justice Buckley enlisted in the Army and immediately joined the Army Air Corps. He served as a pilot, navigator, and radar operator for the 305th Bomb Group, flying daytime raids in B-17 bombers out of Chelveston, England. He was recognized for his service with the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Air Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, the European Theatre Ribbon with four battle stars, and the Army Commendation Ribbon.

    After the war, Justice Buckley returned home and graduated from De Paul University and then went on to Georgetown University, from which his received his Juris Doctorate degree and was a member of the legal fraternity Phi Alpha Delta. While a full-time law student, he worked nights at the U.S. Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C. as a Capitol Police Officer.

    The day he opened his law office in Chicago, Justice Buckley, then an Air Force reservist, was called to serve in the Korean conflict. He left once again, this time to fly jet refuelers.