2019 Articles

The Department of Children and Family Services adopted amendments to Licensing Standards for Foster Family Homes (89 Ill. Adm. Code 402), Licensing Standards for Group Homes (89 Ill. Adm. Code 403), and Licensing Standards for Children Care Institutions and Maternity Centers (89 Ill. Adm. Code 404), all effective Oct. 31, 2018.

On Aug. 27, 2019, the Third District Appellate Court of Illinois held a defendant was deprived of his right to a fair trial when he was denied the opportunity to address a new theory of the case provided in a jury instruction.

On July 9, 2019 (with a correction issued on July 19, 2019), the First District Appellate Court reversed and remanded the conviction of a defendant after bench trial of misdemeanor battery, misdemeanor resisting a peace officer, operating an unsafe vehicle, DUI, and negligent driving.

The defendant, with a prior burglary conviction, pleaded guilty to burglary and theft, but then failed to appear at his sentencing hearing. The trial court sentenced the defendant in abstentia to six years of prison.

A church’s failure to comply with Illinois’ General Not for Profit Corporation Act led the appellate court to decide that neither side of the power struggle was rightfully in control of the organization’s nonprofit corporate structure.

On Feb. 28, 2019, the trial court found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and convicted him, after bench trial, of disorderly conduct not protected by the First Amendment.

The Prevailing Wage Act was amended to include a call for a study on diversity in public works as well as to clarify the way prevailing wages are set locally and objected to.

On June 21, 2019, the Second District Appellate Court affirmed the trial court’s dismissal of the plaintiff’s tort claims because they were barred by the two-year 735 ILCS 5/13-202 statute of limitations.

On May 29, 2019, the Third District Appellate Court held that a summary-suspension warning given in English to a suspected drunk driver was adequate despite the driver’s imperfect command of the language.

Election restrictions placed on those in healthcare facilities have been modified to be less onerous on those patients in long-term care.

The Illinois General Assembly amended the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 to alter the procedures for effecting a warrant of arrest in certain circumstances.

On Aug. 13, 2019, the Second District Appellate Court of Illinois held a police officer’s failure to continuously observe a defendant during an arrest for driving under the influence was not sufficient to approve a motion to suppress breathalyzer test results.