Page 16 - Celeste Bott News Today

An Illinois federal judge said Thursday he would put off ruling on Edelson PC's bid to file additional claims against ex-Girardi Keese partners David Lira and Keith Griffin until he rules on pending motions for summary judgment and the firm files a separate racketeering complaint in California.

An Illinois federal judge Thursday certified two classes of Illinois residents who claim that the listing of their names and other personal information on a searchable, SEO-optimized Instant Checkmate background check directory violated a Prairie State right of publicity law.

An Illinois federal judge held Friday that an Illinois contractor breached its contract with a hospitality company owned by actor Robert De Niro and others for the design and construction of a hotel in Chicago's West Loop, but left it to a jury to decide whether the company engaged in fraud during the $48 million project.

A California law firm that represented "Empire" actor Jessie Smollett filed a malicious prosecution lawsuit Thursday against two brothers who say the actor recruited them to help stage a fake hate crime, the same day an Illinois federal judge dismissed most of the brothers' defamation claims against one of the firm's attorneys.

An Illinois federal judge on Thursday sentenced former Chicago Alderman Ricardo Munoz to 13 months in prison for wire fraud, after the former official admitted last year to using funds, which were contributed to a progressive caucus' account that he controlled, for lavish personal expenses.

An Illinois federal judge has declined to end most of the claims in a woman's suit alleging she was fired from the Cook County's court reporter office in retaliation for reporting that she was sexually harassed by two sheriff's deputies while working in the Skokie, Illinois, courthouse.

The indictment of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan could lead to some state ethics reforms, but it's unclear if those changes will have any teeth in a state that treats disgraced politicians like bad apples rather than side effects of a broken political culture.

Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan pled not guilty Wednesday to racketeering and bribery charges laid out in a 22-count criminal indictment accusing him of leveraging his political might to benefit himself and his allies.

Long-awaited racketeering charges against one of Illinois' most powerful and prominent politicians, former House Speaker Michael Madigan, were the culmination of years of a painstaking investigation by federal prosecutors who likely convinced lower-level participants in the bribery scheme to cooperate, white collar experts say.

Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, once the Prairie State's most powerful politician, was indicted Wednesday on racketeering and bribery charges, after months of prosecutors pursuing a sprawling public corruption probe that has already ensnared some of his former aides and allies.