How might Illinois take more seriously its Constitution’s directive of returning offenders of all ages to useful citizenship. In their October Illinois Bar Journal article, “Useful Sentencing,” Andrea D. Lyon and Hannah J. Brooks show how Illinois courts have interpreted this part of the state’s constitution in lockstep with the U.S. Supreme Court’s interpretations of the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution’s prohibition against “cruel and unusual” punishment—and how Illinois has seriously reassessed its position on sentencing in light of the major decisions on that subject from both the U.S. Supreme Court and the Illinois Supreme Court.

An emerging reality of the #MeToo era is the increased likelihood that you may have a client who will disclose sexual abuse. Attorneys have a duty to react thoughtfully and understand how to counsel a client who shares such sensitive information, write Caitlin K. Cervenka & Christine M. Crow in their October Illinois Bar Journal article, “Lawyering in the #MeToo Era.”

The Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) should be more than just an afterthought for businesses that transact with state and local governments or are subject to regulations requiring disclosures to such agencies. As William Cook and James Cook point out in their September Illinois Bar Journal article, “Business Information and Illinois FOIA requests,” unbeknownst to many businesses, as soon as a public body receives a FOIA request, sensitive business information (SBI) is potentially subject to disclosure, regardless of whether the requester is actually seeking SBI.

On July 20, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held in United States v. Ruth that Illinois defines cocaine more broadly than the federal government. Because the Illinois definition of cocaine covers more than the corresponding federal definition, prior Illinois cocaine convictions can no longer be used to enhance a federal drug defendant’s mandatory minimum sentence. In his September Illinois Bar Journal article, “Cocaine Isn’t What It Used to Be,” Thomas Drysdale explores how sentencing enhancements are built into federal drug laws, how and when those enhancements can be applied, why Illinois cocaine convictions are no longer predicate offenses after United States v. Ruth, and what the potential consequences of Ruth will be going forward.