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Statehouse Review

  • February 24, 2012 | Practice News
    ISBA Statehouse Review for the week of Feb. 24

    ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews bills in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. This week he covers Senate Bill 3349 (prosecutor consent for first offenders), House Bill 5544 (attorney's fees in Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act), House Bill 4994 (BAIID device), Senate Bill 2953 (provisions concerning the effect of recording deeds, mortgages, and other instruments) and Senate Bill 2952 (attorney malpractice). More information on each bill is available below the video.

    1 comment (Most recent February 25, 2012)
  • February 16, 2012 | Practice News | ISBA News
    ISBA Statehouse Review for the week of Feb. 16

    ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews bills in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. This week he covers House Bill 4676 (consumer contracts), House Bill 4665 (radon and home construction), Senate Bill 3757 (admissibility of photographs), House Bill 5198 (contractual litigation) and Senate Bill 2953 (conveyances act). More information on each bill is available below the video.

  • February 9, 2012 | Practice News
    ISBA Statehouse Review for the week of Feb. 9

    ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews bills in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. This week he covers HJRCA 29 (Victims' Rights Constitutional Amendment) and House Bill 3944 (Eavesdropping). More information on each bill is available below the video.

     

    Victims’ Rights Constitutional Amendment. HJRCA 29 (Lang, D-Chicago) gives crime victims a constitutional right to enforce the current constitutional protections already granted to them under Section 8.1. It essentially gives them standing as a party to in criminal prosecutions to participate in all proceedings. Passed the House 116-2 and sent to the Senate.  

    Eavesdropping. House Bill 3944 (Nekritz, D-Des Plaines) creates an exemption from prosecution for eavesdropping to allow a citizen to record a law enforcement officer performing public duties in a public place. To do so now is a Class 1 felony. Passed out of House Judiciary Committee I on a 9-2 vote. The “No” votes were Rep. Michael Zalewski (D-Chicago) and Michael Connelly (R-Lisle).

  • February 2, 2012 | Practice News
    ISBA Statehouse Review for the week of Feb. 2

    ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews bills in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. This week he covers House Bill 3944 (eavesdropping), House bill 1205 (residential burglary), House Bill 2886 (statute of limitations and sex offenses), House Bill 281 (judgement debtors) and House Bills 4460 and 4461 (domestic violence orders). More information on each bill is available below the video:

    1 comment (Most recent February 3, 2012)
  • January 26, 2012 | Practice News
    ISBA Statehouse Review for the week of Jan. 26

    ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews bills in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. This week he covers: House bill 4077 (New crime), House Bill 4129 (Administrative support orders), House Bill 3943 (Eavesdropping) and House Bill 4098 (Judicial campaigns and disqualification). More information on each bill is available below the video.

    1 comment (Most recent January 27, 2012)
  • January 19, 2012 | Practice News
    Illinois Statehouse Review for the week of Jan. 19

    ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews bills in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. This week he covers: Senate Bill 2534 (mortgage foreclosure); House Bill 3979 (association bylaws), House Bill 3981 (expert witness) and House Bill 3850 (local government). More information on each bill is available below the video.

     

  • January 12, 2012 | Practice News
    ISBA Statehouse Review for the week of Jan. 12

    ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews bills in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. This week he covers: House Bill 3972 (use of cell phone while driving), House Bill 3944 (eavesdropping), Senate Bill 2569 (Family Law) and Senate Bill 2567 (Health Law). More information on each bill is available below the video.

     

  • December 15, 2011 | Practice News
    ISBA Statehouse Review for the week of Dec. 15

    ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews bills in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. This week he covers: Senate Bill 397, which changes the State tax credit of the Illinois Estate and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Act; No. 97-20, which creates a new statute to allow first-offender probation for certain felonies and No. 97-28, which creates two exemptions from prosecution for eavesdropping. More information on each bill is available below the video.

    Correction to video: The proposed eavesdropping legislation came from the Intellectiual Property Section Council - not the Criminal Justice Section Council.

  • December 1, 2011 | Practice News
    ISBA Statehouse review for the week of Dec. 1

    ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews bills in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. This week he covers: medical records of deceased family members (Public Act 97-623), mortgage foreclosure and abandoned residential property (Senate Bill 2534) and public administrator records (Senate 2536). Information on each bill is available below the video.

     

  • November 17, 2011 | Practice News
    ISBA Statehouse review for the week of Nov. 16

    ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews bills in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. This week he covers: cuts to Legal Services' funding, Senate Bill 1694, House Bill 1589, House Bill 1712, House Bill 1604 and Senate Bill 1259. Information on each bill is available below the video.

    Legal Services' funding drastically cut.

    The funding for Legal Services Corporation was reduced by about 14.8 % for FY 12. Fiscal Year 2011 funding was at $404 million, and the House Senate conference committee voted to reduce it to $348 million for FY 12.

    Congress has settled on the halfway number between the House and Senate committee recommendations despite the fact that the overall cuts in this appropriation amount to 2%. This is a huge and disproportionate cut—more than $56 million. This has to be devastating for Legal Assistance Foundation,  Prairie State Legal Services and Land of Lincoln. As a practical matter, what this means for Illinois is about a $1 million cut for LAF and another almost $1 million combined cut for Prairie State and Land of Lincoln.