The Illinois Bar Journal’s February 2021 cover story, “Small Town Law,” introduces the Illinois State Bar Association’s Rural Practice Initiative (RPI), an innovate effort designed to incentivize practicing law in less-populated areas of Illinois as one way to address access-to-justice challenges in more rural parts of the state. The program will provide funding to young lawyers who are willing to move to rural Illinois. The program also will provide subsidies to firms willing to take them on. The RPI is the brainchild of ISBA president Dennis Orsey, who says of the dearth of legal services in rural Illinois, “I look at this as an access-to-justice issue. If we don’t take affirmative action now to address this problem, in a few years those aging attorneys will retire and there will be no one left to serve these residents.”

On behalf of the circuit judges of the Third Judicial Circuit, Chief Judge William A. Mudge announced that Angela P. Donohoo and Ronald S. Motil were elected to fill the associate judge vacancies in the Third Judicial Circuit. These associate judge vacancies were created by the election of Associate Judge Stephen A. Stobbs to the circuit court and the resignation of Associate Judge John B. Julian.

Susan L. Zielke, Managing Attorney, Eastern Regional Office, Land of Lincoln Legal Aid

In a new year, we make resolutions. In our work, we set SMART goals. For our life, we choose focus words. Make pro bono one of those overarching themes for 2021.

The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) has shared updates that may help ISBA members prepare for questions regarding 1099-G forms and IDES.

1099-G Tax Forms
IDES is in the process of finalizing the annual 1099-G form mailing to all individuals who received unemployment insurance (UI) benefits in 2020.

Mediation is designed to resolve differences both in and out of the courts. It requires a very different mindset than courtroom litigation. Don’t miss this online Master Series program on February 2 that trains practitioners to resolve conflicts in a non-adversarial, non-confrontational manner, allowing peaceful resolutions between parties.

A right of first refusal (ROFR) is an agreement giving its holder the right to purchase property in certain circumstances. ROFRs usually concern real estate, but they can cover any type of property. Generally, ROFRs provide that if an owner receives a bona fide offer to buy its property on terms it wishes to accept, the owner must give the ROFR holder notice of the offer and the opportunity to match it. The ROFR holder has no obligation to match the offer and it can refuse to do so. In that instance, the owner is free to sell the property to the offeror. If the ROFR holder does match the offer, the holder has the right to buy the property and the owner must sell it to the ROFR holder. But as Mitchell L. Marinello and Andrew P. Shelby demonstrate in their January 2021 Illinois Bar Journal article, “Right of First Refusal, Right?” under the peculiarities of Illinois law, ROFRs generally are enforceable but can lead to litigation, specifically when a property’s ROFR provisions may not be considered definite enough to be enforced.

The Illinois Supreme Court issued three opinions on January 22. In In re J.M.A., the Supreme Court was equally divided and dismissed the appeal. In Steed v. Rezin Orthopedics & Sports Medicine, S.C., the Supreme Court unanimously reversed an unpublished order issued by an appellate court that reversed a jury verdict in favor of an institutional defendant. In Board of Education of the City of Chicago v. Moore, the court addressed whether the School Code authorized the Board of Education of the City of Chicago to opt for suspension rather than either dismissal or reinstatement of a tenured teacher.

Volunteers are needed for the 2021 ISBA High School Mock Trial Invitational, which will be held virtually March 12-14 via Zoom.

This program provides an opportunity for students to learn what it is like to prepare and present a legal case before the Illinois courts. Participating students gain a better understanding of the justice system and improve their knowledge, skills, and ability to articulate in a reasoned, thoughtful manner.