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Happy snowy Tuesday, Illinois. It was Monday Vaxday as Chicago Mayor
Lori Lightfoot and Cook County Board President
Toni Preckwinkle received their Covid-19 shots.
TOP TALKER
Donald Trump for inciting the Capitol riot, Rep.
The hand wringing over the replacement process is so overblown. It’s not clear to me how a special election with little turnout is preferable. Plus people pretend Committeemen aren’t also elected themselves (in elections that might very well have higher turnout than specials). People are more than welcome to run for committeeman or vote out appointed incumbents. Plenty of great legislators were first appointed through this process. Once again a “process” complaint rather than substantive. I suppose it would be better to change the process so people shut up about it. But then when those specials are dominated by connected people who can put an organization together quickly, where will the complaining turn?
The recent case of
Multimedia Sales & Marketing, Inc. v. Marzullo, et al., N.E.3d -, 2020 IL App (1st) 191790 (1st Dist. Dec. 21, 2020), demonstrates the peril that attorney fees sanctions present for litigants who bring trade secret misappropriation claims in bad faith.
Like the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act, the Illinois Trade Secrets Act (“ITSA”) allows litigants to recover attorneys’ fees incurred in defending “bad faith” misappropriation claims.
See18 U.S.C. § 1836(b)(3)(D); 765 ILCS 1065/5. Illinois courts interpret claims of bad faith in conjunction with Illinois Supreme Court Rule 137 an analogue to Federal Rule 11 that obligates Illinois attorneys to only bring actions that are well-grounded in fact, warranted by existing law (or a good-faith argument for the extension, modification, or reversal of existing law), and not for an improper purpose. Section 5 of ITSA complements Rule 137’s obligations and provides a mechanism for courts to penalize
Judge Heiple
Justice James D. Heiple, the author of the controversial 1999 “Baby Richard” adoption case ruling, passed away on January 18 at OSF St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria from complications following a brain hemorrhage. He was 87.
During his time on the Illinois Supreme Court, Justice Heiple authored 175 majority opinions, 98 dissents, 27 special concurrences and 18 partial concurrences/partial dissents.
“Justice Heiple had a long and distinguished career in the judiciary and legal community,” Chief Justice Anne M. Burke said. “He will forever be remembered for the ‘Baby Richard Case’ and the controversy that came during his time on the Supreme Court. Justice Heiple persevered through those hard times and the Court sends its condolences to his friends and family.”