Eliminate statute of limitations on sex cases

A proposed law has been sent to Governor Rauner, which he is expected to sign,  would eliminate the statute of limitations for all of the serious sex offenses, including criminal sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse, when committed against someone under 18 years of age.

Effectively, the move would eliminate the statute of limitations for cases in which the current legal time limit hasn't yet expired.

Lawyer Suspended For Swearing At Trial.

A Chicago area lawyer was suspended for 90 days from practicing in the Northern District of Illinois after she was accused of using profanity in front of a jury.  In an order issued by the federal court's executive committee, the attorney's conduct by rolling her eyes and using the "F" word prejudiced the administration of justice. In addition she was also barred from participating as lead attorney in any trial for a full year and ordered to take ethics and professionalism classes.

Changes to Illinois Continuing Legal Education

On April 3, 2017, the Illinois Supreme Court announced changes to a rule impacting the requirements for continuing legal education (CLE) in Illinois. The rule change will go into effect on July 1, 2017, and begins with attorneys with the two-year reporting period ending June 30, 2019.

Pursuant to Amended Supreme Court Rule 794(d), Illinois lawyers will be required to complete one hour of diversity and inclusion CLE and one hour of mental health and substance abuse CLE as part of the Professional Responsibility CLE requirement. 

Drug Impaired Driving

A recent study indicates drug impaired driving is now a bigger problem in the U.S. than drunken driving  Forty three percent of slain drivers with known results tested positive for drugs, compared to 38 percent for alcohol in 2015 data.

Will marijuana use in Illinois become legal?

Illinois lawmakers consider a proposal to make marijuana use legal in the state.  It would allow possession of up to one ounce of pot by people 21 and over.  Driving under the influence wold remain illegal and smoking in public would be prohibited.

Illinois passed a new law which will eliminate the requirement that a person have no convictions on his record in order to expunge a case. Under the old law, a conviction for even the smallest infraction (for example, a fine on a ticket for underage drinking) would mean that a person could not expunge anything else from his criminal record, even if those charges were dropped.

Although that person could have sealed the dismissed case, there are certain circumstances where an expungement is necessary for furthering someone's goals. Now, the law will determine the eligibility to expunge based solely on the case itself, rather than also on the person.

The new law will also waive the filing fees for many expungement petitions in Cook County during 2017. Petitioners in Cook County will not have to pay filing fees when the case(s) sought to be expunged resulted in acquittal or dismissal. This provision is set to expire at the end of 2017

Majority of car accidents caused by distracted driving

A new study from Cambridge Mobile Telematics (CMT) found that, in most car crashes, distracted driving plays a role. They dug deep on this problem, examining phone logs from drivers in hundreds of thousands of real accidents.

The new study found in 52 percent of all wrecks, drivers had been on their phones. These aren't just fender benders -- 29 percent of drivers were doing over 56 miles per hour.