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ISBA President Umberto S. Davi met with a delegation of attorneys from the former Soviet Republic of Kyrgyzstan. The lawyers are part of the a newly formed association of Criminal Defense Attorneys and are visiting the U.S. as part of the ABA's Rule of Law Initiative.

ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews legislation in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. This week he covers Condominium Property Act (House Bill 2640), Amends the Common Interest Community Association Act (House Bill 2640), Mortgage Foreclosure (Public Act 99-24), Common-Interest Community Association Act (Public Act 99-41) and Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Confidentiality Act (Public Act 99-28). More information on each bill is available below the video.

A Cook County judge held recently that categorically denying supervision to someone convicted of driving 40 or more miles per hour over the speed limit violates the proportionate penalties clause of the Illinois Constitution. Tom Speedie wrote about the case, People v. Rizzo (Cook County Case No. 37997158), in the May Traffic Laws & Courts newsletter.Judge Deborah J. Gubin ruled that "the prohibition on court supervision for aggravated speeding [is] an unconstitutional violation of the proportionate penalties clause because it is cruel and degrading," Speedie wrote. "She lists the charges for which court supervision is unavailable, noting that many of them involve bodily injury. She goes on to observe that offenses for which court supervision is available include driving while suspended or revoked, driving under the influence, and theft."Judge Gubin concludes that mandating a misdemeanor conviction on a first offense, and not allowing a judge to consider mitigating factors, resulting in a non-expungable, permanent (barring a pardon) criminal conviction, with ongoing ramifications in many areas of a person's life, is cruel and degrading, thus unconstitutional," Speedie wrote. Find out more in the July Illinois Bar Journal.