ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews legislation in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. In this episode he covers Maintenance in family law cases (Public Act 98-961), Condominium Property Act (Senate Bill 2664), Trusts and Trustees Act (Public Act 98- 946), UM/UIM insurance (Public Act 98-927) and Service of process (Public Act 98-966). More information on the bill is available below the video.

With the 2014-15 season quickly approaching, the Chicago Blackhawks would like to offer all Illinois State Bar Association members an exclusive opportunity to purchase preseason tickets.This offer features a hockey stick autographed by Patrick Kane or Jonathan Toews with the purchase of four or more tickets in the 100 or 200 level, while supplies last*.This is your opportunity to get an early look at the Blackhawks and see opponents like Detroit, New York and Montreal.To purchase tickets, CLICK HERE and enter the promo code stick.Blackhawks Preseason Games:Tuesday, Sept. 23 vs. Red Wings at 7:30 p.m.Friday, Sept. 26 vs. Rangers at 7:30 p.m.Wednesday, Oct. 1 vs. Canadiens at 7:30 p.m.If you have any questions, or would like to purchase a group of 10 tickets or more for one of these games, please contact TR Johnson in the Chicago Blackhawks Ticket Office at 312-455-7095 or tjohnson@chicagoblackhawks.com*Details regarding stick pick-up will be communicated the week leading up to your game date. Sticks are distributed at random. Autographed stick giveaways are exclusive to this offer. Sticks must be picked up at the preseason game purchased.

A new public act dramatically changes how spousal maintenance is determined for divorcing couples whose combined gross income is less than $250,000.The law, P.A. 98-0961, which was crafted by the ISBA Family Law Section Council, creates a formula for calculating maintenance based on the gross income of the parties and the length of the marriage. Up till now, judges calculated maintenance without using a statutory formula similar to the one that applies to child support awards, instead relying on a list of factors that appear at sections 504 and 505 of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act. As a result, maintenance decisions vary widely, and lawyers have found it difficult to predict what a court will do when awarding maintenance.The new formula will change that, once a court makes the threshold decision that maintenance is appropriate in a given case. Although judges aren’t required to use the formula, they must make a finding explaining why they did not.Under the formula, a maintenance award should equal 30 percent of the payor’s gross income minus 20 percent of the payee’s gross income, not to exceed 40 percent of the parties’ combined gross income when added to the payee’s gross. Here's an illustration of how the math works.Assume the soon-to-be-ex-husband grosses $50,000 a year, and his wife earns $30,000. Thirty percent of $50,000 is $15,000, and 20 percent of $30,000 is $6,000. Subtract $6,000 from $15,000, and voila – the husband owes the wife $9,000 a year in maintenance. Simple enough.

Join us via the Internet on Wednesday, September 10th for this live webcast that examines issues and concerns with guns in the workplace and discusses Illinois' Concealed Carry Law requirements.