Voting is now underway in the 2019 ISBA Election. ISBA's election provider Election America emailed e-ballots to members with valid email addresses and mailed paper ballots to members without valid email addresses today, Wednesday, March 27. The deadline for voting is Tuesday, April 30, 2019 at 4:30 p.m.  Only attorney members who have paid their dues by March 1, 2019 are eligible to vote. 

The Illinois State Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division hosted a free lunch and learn on Tuesday, March 26 at the Chicago Regional Office. Panelists included ISBA Third Vice President Anna Krolikowska, ISBA Board of Governors Members Bridget Duignan and Daniel Saeedi, Karen VanderMeer, Kelly Bennett, and Judy Conway. Topics included networking, how to attract clients, how to make the most of networking, and expanding business opportunities.  

In a profession that requires people to argue all day, in an era when arguing easily turns to shouting, it’s time for some self-reflection. April’s Illinois Bar Journal asks judges throughout the state and at all levels whether we’re all doing enough to keep calm. It turns out things aren’t all that bad, even if we can always do better.

The Illinois Supreme Court handed down opinions in six cases on Thursday, March 21. In People v. Webb, the court held that the unlawful use of weapons statute that provides that it is unlawful to possess or carry a stun gun in public is unconstitutional under the Second Amendment, and in People v. Drake, remanded a defendant’s appealed aggravated battery conviction to the circuit court for a retrial. In City of Chicago v. City of Kankakee, the court held that the Illinois Department of Revenue has the exclusive authority to audit disputed sales transactions and to distribute or redistribute resulting tax revenues due to any error. In 1550 MP Road LLC v. Teamsters Local Union No. 700, the court held that a union’s lease and purchase agreement that was in violation of the Property of Unincorporated Associations Act and the union’s bylaws was unenforceable. The court issued three opinions in Wingert v. Hradisky. In Van Dyke v. White, the court addressed whether the Illinois Secretary of State Securities Department has the authority to bring an administrative action against someone also subject to regulation by the Department of Insurance.