Justice Thomas L. Kilbride of the Illinois Supreme Court announced Monday an innovative mediation program to help ease the financial and emotional burden of homeowners, lenders and taxpayers caused by residential mortgage foreclosures.
Justice Kilbride, appearing with Chief Judge Gerald R. Kinney of the Circuit Court of Will County, said the foreclosure mediation program also is aimed at keeping families in homes to prevent vacant and abandoned houses that drive down property values and destabilize neighborhoods.
The Illinois Supreme Court approved the program which will operate with no additional expense to taxpayers and be sustained by an increase in filing fees paid by lenders and other plaintiffs seeking to foreclose.
“This is an important step forward for those in Will County suffering the effects of our nation’s economic crisis,” said Justice Kilbride. “The Supreme Court has a keen interest in programs with the strong promise of achieving timely and lasting resolution to tough problems.
“We are grateful to Chief Judge Kinney and those in the community who helped formulate the details from concept to a working model. We are hopeful it will help families cope with some of the emotional and financial burdens brought on by the current economic difficulties, and help give them a new start on their way to better times.”
Chief Judge Kinney first brought the proposal to Justice Kilbride, and worked with the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, the administrative arm of the Supreme Court, to refine and finalize details. He also has discussed the plan with lawyers for lenders and debtors in the community. He expects the program to be up and running within a month.
“Obviously, this is an attempt to begin to solve a serious societal problem,” Chief Judge Kinney said. “Foreclosures are tearing up our neighborhoods and our communities. This is an effort to lend some stability to what could be a financially and emotionally chaotic process. It’s a way for the courts to help address some of these community problems.”
Judge Kinney believes that Will County has a rate of foreclosure as high as any other area in the state. From June 2008 to June 2009, there were 5,541 foreclosures filed in Will County, and that number is increasing.
Judge Kinney estimates that between 2,700 and 3,000 cases would be screened annually for mediation.
Practice News
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June 7, 2010 |
Practice News
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June 4, 2010 |
Practice News
CIVIL
ABN Amro Mortgage Group v. McGahan
By Tim Eaton, Shefsky & Froelich Ltd. With the increasing number of foreclosure actions on residential homes, the high court addressed a question that has been to date answered by the lower courts inconsistently -- that is whether a lender must name a personal representative for a deceased borrower in a mortgage foreclosure proceeding. The trial court found that a foreclosure proceeding was a quasi-in-rem proceeding requiring the mortgagee (borrower) to be a party, or if the borrower is deceased, a personal representative must be named in the action. The lender argued the proceeding was against the property only (in-rem), so no borrower was necessary. The appellate court agreed with the lender. The Supreme Court acknowledged that Illinois courts have ruled inconsistently in how these proceedings have been classified. But it resolved the issue in favor of the borrower since it found the object of the foreclosure is to enforce an obligation created by a contract between the lender and borrower, and therefore the borrower, or personal representative, becomes a necessary party. According to the parties’ briefs below, the resolution of this question will govern “literally thousands of current and future cases.” What is noteworthy about this appeal, is that there was no party bringing the appeal to the Supreme Court. The PLA was filed by an amicus, CVLS, a legal services group that represents indigent borrowers in foreclosure proceedings. Nevertheless, the high court allowed the petition and made no mention of the standing of the amicus in the opinion even though the issue had been raised earlier in prior motion practice. -
June 3, 2010 |
Practice News
The Illinois Supreme Court today increased bail amounts in several areas, including traffic, conservation and other offenses. These increases are effective Sept. 15, 2010. The bail amount for speeding 20-30 miles over the speed limit increased from $95 to $140 and 30 miles over the speed limit went from $105 to $160. Supreme Court rules 526, 527, 528 and 530.
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June 3, 2010 |
Practice News
The Illinois high court ruled recently that it isn't reversible error for a trial court to defer ruling on motions in limine to exclude prior convictions unless defendants testify -- and that's bad news for defendants who choose not to testify, as Helen Gunnarsson reports in the June Illinois Bar Journal.
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June 3, 2010 |
Practice News
[caption id="attachment_11918" align="alignright" width="160" caption="scanR turns a camera-equipped smartphone into a scanner, fax and copier."][/caption] By Shamla Naidoo Have you ever needed a copier on the fly? Needed to fax a document while on the road? Needed a family record or other document, but your client is loath to let his only copy out the door? All of these have happened to me more times than I care to remember. Recently I found a handy service - scanR - that turns a camera-equipped smartphone into a scanner, fax and copier.* I installed the scanR application on my Blackberry, a process that took less than 10 minutes. Now, by simply running the scanR application, I can: 1. Take photos of a document with my phone, and convert it to a PDF 2. Email or fax the document to myself or anyone else. The software can run on your Blackberry, iPhone, Android, or Nokia S60. The quality of the scanned and faxed documents, while generally good, depends on the resolution of the camera on your phone. You can install the software for a free trial using only your Internet enabled phone. Since you can install and use the application on your phone without access to a computer, this is a great emergency tool. The production service costs about $5 for a combination of 50 scans or faxes. *Note: I have no affiliation with RIM or scanR, other than as a regular paying customer.
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June 2, 2010 |
Practice News
ISBA member Phillip H. Hamilton says his jury service changed -- forever -- his perspective on trial practice. Read his story.
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June 2, 2010 |
Practice News
Asked and Answered By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC Q. We are a 12 attorney firm located in Chicago. We are struggling with cash flow and having problems covering payroll and meeting our draws. Do you have any suggestions? A. Small firms that have weathered the storm and faired the best during this recession were those that:
- Were focused
- Had a sense of where they were & where they were heading
- Had a vision and a strategy
- Had business and financial plans
- Had goals and measured attainment
- Fostered accountability from self and others
- Were proactive
- Worked the books and aggressively managed the RULES
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June 2, 2010 |
Practice News
The Women's Bar Foundation (WBF), has announced the availability of applications for the 3rd Annual WBF Public Service Stipend Award. “The escalating cost of a law school education makes it difficult for many new women lawyers to accept employment in the public service arena,” said WBF President Bernadette Barron. “As a not-for-profit organization founded to support women lawyers, the WBF’s Public Service Stipend Award may be used to offset law school debt; thereby reducing the graduate’s overall financial strain. We believe that this is significant.” “The WBF’s 2010 Public Service Stipend Award of $15,000.00 will provide immediate financial support to a recent woman graduate of an Illinois law school who is pursuing a career in public service. One of our key strategic initiatives is to support legal service in the public interest areas,” said President Barron. Candidates are invited to complete and submit an application NO LATER THAN July 6, 2010 to the address below:
- Bates McIntyre Larson, Esq.
- Scholarship and Stipend Award Director
- Women’s Bar Foundation
- c/o Perkins Coie LLP
- 131 S. Dearborn Street, Suite 1700
- Chicago, Illinois 60603-5559.
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May 28, 2010 |
Practice News
The Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts announced Thursday that Allan F. Lolie received a majority of the votes cast by the circuit judges in the Fourth Judicial Circuit and is declared to be appointed to the office of associate judge. Mr. Lolie received his undergraduate degree in 1988 from Western Illinois University in Macomb and his Juris Doctor in 1991 from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. Mr. Lolie is currently affiliated with the Shelby County State’s Attorney’s Office in Shelbyville.
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May 27, 2010 |
Practice News
By Peter LaSorsa I often have attorneys ask what type of printer they should purchase. Many seem to think they need a color printer. The first question I always ask is how many color prints will you actually print per month. Go back and look at the last three months and give an honest assessment. Color printers cost more and the ink costs more so if you really don’t need a color printer, why purchase one? As an alternative to a color printer I suggest purchasing a black and white and sending your color printing needs to Kinko’s. You can upload the file online and pick the printing up at your leisure. Even if you printed in color in the last three months, did you really have to? Very few items have to be printed in color. In fact, if you are printing pictures, Kinko’s does a better job than your printer will and the paper stock they utilize will be better. In the long run, purchasing a black and white four-in-one printer/copier/fax/scanner will save money and do a good job. I utilize a Brother DCP 7020 and it sells for around $100. The replacement cartridges are fairly cost effective and the machine is a workhorse. It has never let me down and for a solo does a great job. If you have multiple attorneys it may be less expensive to purchase each attorney their own four-in-one black and white printer.
