Getting to the Illinois Supreme Court is a long shot. In any given year, the Supreme Court receives more than a thousand petitions for leave to appeal under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 315, notes Charles Insler in his May 2021 Illinois Bar Journal article, “Rule 317, Appeal as a Matter of Right.” From those thousand-plus petitions, the Court will allow leave to appeal in roughly 50 or 60 cases—about half of which are criminal and the other half civil. During the past five years, the odds of making it to the Supreme Court have ranged from one in 20 to one in 25. But what about Rule 317? The first part Rule 317 is clear and provides for automatic review in the Supreme Court when an appellate court has invalidated a state or federal statute. The second part of Rule 317, however, is less clear; but it provides an intriguing source for an appeal, as of right, to the Supreme Court, Insler explains.

The Illinois Supreme Court Rules Committee will hear comments July 21, 2021, at a public hearing in Chicago on four proposals. All the proposals, which must be approved by the Illinois Supreme Court before they could take effect, will be aired at a hearing before the Rules Committee at 10:30 a.m., Wednesday, July 21, 2021, in Room C-500 of the Michael A. Bilandic Building, 160 N. LaSalle St. in Chicago.

The UIC John Marshall Law School will change its name to the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law after receiving approval from the University of Illinois Board of Trustees today. With all required approvals and agreements obtained in accordance with university processes and contractual obligations with the Legacy Law School Corporation and the Foundation Legacy Corporation (the successor legal entities that owned and operated the law school, and fund-raised for the school, before it became a part of UIC), the name change will be effective July 1, 2021.

Don’t miss this comprehensive overview of the Criminal Justice Reform Bill that goes into effect on July 1, 2021. Attorneys with all levels of practice experience who attend this online program will become better equipped to advise their clients on a number of changes to sentencing and criminal statutes. Sentencing credits within the Illinois Department of Corrections will also be discussed. This online program will take place from 11 a.m. until noon on Thursday, June 3.