While it has long been recognized that there is a separation of powers under the Illinois Condominium Property Act between condominium boards and unit owners, condominium boards have possessed almost all of the decision-making authority under the Act, including deciding rule violations. But, according to Ellis Levin in his September 2019 Illinois Bar Journal article, “Power to the Condo Unit Owner,” that power has shifted in Boucher v. 111 East Chestnut Condominium Association. In Boucher (Justice Neville’s final appellate opinion before joining the Illinois Supreme Court), the balance of power has shifted from condominium officers and boards to unit owners when unit owners protest rule violations and request meeting records.

Arguably one of the most significant developments in recent Illinois criminal justice reform was Public Act 100-284. Signed into law on Aug. 24, 2017, this amendment to the Illinois Criminal Identification Act (ICIA) enacted among the nation’s broadest sealing and expungement reforms to date. As a result of the ICIA (one might also add the automatic expungement provisions included in the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act signed into law this summer), there has never been a better time to file an expungement or sealing petition in Illinois. But clients seeking to take advantage of criminal record reforms are going to have questions—lots of them. You’ll need answers. In his September 2019 Illinois Bar Journal article, “Make It Go Away,” criminal-defense attorney Paul Meyers examines typical questions and concerns clients have when pursuing relief under the ICIA.

Hudson and subsequent caselaw is clear: If a plaintiff voluntarily dismisses a lawsuit after one count of a multicount complaint is dismissed with prejudice under either section 2-619 or section 2-1005 of the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure, any refiling will be barred by res judicata and the rule against claim-splitting (barring an exception). In his August 2019 Illinois Bar Journal article, “Don’t Overlook Hudson,” Adam T. Ernette, an associate at Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP in Chicago, uses Hudson v. City of Chicago as a starting point for a state-of-the-law analysis regarding res judicata and the rule against claim-splitting for attorneys considering taking a voluntary dismissal.

Unclear Seventh Circuit precedent and conflicting district court opinions have left unresolved whether corporate financial information is discoverable in relation to a punitive-damages claim in federal court. In his August 2019 Illinois Bar Journal article, “Cracking Open the Corporate Coffers,” Thomas A. Drysdale, a chambers law clerk to the Hon. Eric I. Long of the Central District of Illinois, argues that corporate wealth is discoverable, analyzes its admissibility, and proposes a solution to resolve the tension between the relevancy and admissibility questions.