Illinois

  • December 22, 2025

    Trump Admin Sues To Undo Ill. Immigrant Protection Laws

    The Trump administration sued the state of Illinois on Monday, claiming two recent state laws allowing for civil legal action against any law enforcement agent who knowingly violates the Illinois or U.S. Constitution and prohibiting civil arrests in and around state courthouses unlawfully discriminate against federal officers and violate the supremacy clause.

  • December 22, 2025

    Chicago Council's $16.6B Budget Axes Mayor's Head Tax Plan

    Chicago aldermen have passed a budget that omits Mayor Brandon Johnson's signature tax proposal of a $33-per-employee monthly tax on larger businesses, setting up a clash with the mayor, who must now decide whether to veto the council's plan.

  • December 22, 2025

    Robocall Class Seeks $35.7M After Failed Deal Talks

    Consumers looking to hold a resort company liable after its vendor placed more than 70,000 unwanted marketing calls to National Do Not Call registrants have asked an Illinois federal judge to enter a $35.7 million judgment reflecting their recent summary judgment win after their court-ordered settlement negotiations were unsuccessful.

  • December 22, 2025

    Ed Dept. Ordered To Restore $1B In Mental Health Grants

    The U.S. Department of Education will not be allowed to cut more than $1 billion in mental health grants for schools after a Washington federal judge ruled that the agency acted illegally by citing new, undisclosed Trump administration priorities as a basis for slashing the funding.

  • December 22, 2025

    7th Circ. Rejects Challenge To Chicago Towing Practices

    The Seventh Circuit on Monday affirmed the dismissal of a putative class action challenging the city of Chicago's practice of booting, towing, impounding and ultimately disposing of residents' cars to enforce compliance with its traffic code, saying it doesn't amount to a taking under the Fifth Amendment.

  • December 22, 2025

    Mercedes Inks $150M Deal In Emissions Cheating Claims

    Mercedes-Benz USA LLC and Mercedes-Benz Group AG have reached a nearly $150 million national settlement with state attorneys general amid allegations that they sold and leased vehicles equipped with devices capable of defeating emissions tests.

  • December 19, 2025

    AI Note-Taking Software Stores Voice Data, Ill. Suit Says

    Artificial intelligence software that provides transcription and other meeting assistance on platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams illegally collects, stores and uses individuals' biometric voice data without their informed consent, according to a lawsuit filed in Illinois federal court.

  • December 19, 2025

    Okla. City Bombing Prosecutor, Disability Advocate Dies At 75

    Joseph Hartzler, a longtime assistant U.S. attorney in Illinois who led the prosecution team in the 1997 Oklahoma City bombing trial and later became a federal public defender, died Thursday, one of his sons said. 

  • December 19, 2025

    Real Estate Recap: How '25 Shaped Offices, Hotels, Data Hubs

    Catch up on this past week's key developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including analyses of how the office, hotel and data center sectors fared in 2025.

  • December 19, 2025

    Coinbase Sues 3 States Over Event Contract Regulation

    Illinois, Connecticut and Michigan have been sued by cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase over their attempts to regulate the trading platform's prediction market offerings, with the firm arguing that the states are trying to unlawfully apply their gambling laws to federally regulated transactions that are under the jurisdiction of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

  • December 19, 2025

    23 AGs Oppose FCC's Possible AI Law Preemption

    Nearly two dozen state attorneys general joined forces to urge the Federal Communications Commission not to issue a ruling that would preempt state-level regulation of artificial intelligence technologies, arguing in a comment letter that the agency lacks such authority.

  • December 19, 2025

    Ill. Judge Trims Claims Over Mondelez Cocoa Sourcing Label

    A California consumer can pursue claims that Mondelez International illegally led customers to believe that the snack giant sources its cocoa ethically, but only for Oreo and Toblerone products, an Illinois federal judge ruled.

  • December 19, 2025

    Ill. County Prevails In Hospital Worker's COVID Vax Bias Suit

    Cook County, Illinois, on Friday defeated a federal religious discrimination lawsuit by a Christian employee in its hospital system who alleged she was booted from her job after being denied an exemption from a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy.

  • December 19, 2025

    Supreme Court's Biggest Criminal Law Opinions Of 2025

    The U.S. Supreme Court in 2025 handed down major criminal law decisions that made it easier for defendants to mount post-conviction challenges, clarified fraud statutes, and settled a circuit split over whether defendants can be convicted of violent crimes in which they did not physically participate.

  • December 19, 2025

    Ill. Judge Affirms $2.6M Verdict For Fired Court Clerk Workers

    An Illinois federal judge has refused to order a new trial or alter a roughly $2.6 million damages award after a jury sided with three former employees of the Lake County Circuit Court Clerk's Office who claimed they were fired by the new clerk for campaigning for the incumbent she defeated in the 2016 election.

  • December 18, 2025

    Musicians Say AI Music Platform Copies Copyrighted Works

    A group of independent musicians has filed a proposed class action claiming the artificial intelligence music platform Mureka illegally and systematically copies and stores their copyrighted works as part of a product that directly competes with their livelihoods.

  • December 18, 2025

    Eli Lilly Workers Say Justices Needn't Mull Collective Standard

    Eli Lilly workers on Wednesday pressed the U.S. Supreme Court not to disturb a Seventh Circuit decision establishing a new, more flexible standard for certifying collective actions, arguing that there's no "urgent" need for the high court to weigh in on the dispute.

  • December 18, 2025

    Amazon Can't Shed Class Status In Virtual Try-On Privacy Suit

    A Seventh Circuit panel has affirmed an Illinois district judge's certification of a class of more than 100,000 Amazon shoppers who accuse the e-commerce giant of illegally collecting and preserving their facial geometry data when they used the company's virtual try-on feature to preview products such as makeup and eyewear.

  • December 18, 2025

    Energy Transfer Wants Action On $345M Greenpeace Verdict

    Energy Transfer begged a North Dakota state judge Thursday to enter final judgment on a $345 million defamation and property damage verdict over the Dakota Access pipeline protests, saying the case is "off the procedural map," and it heard from the judge an acknowledgment that it's taken over his professional life.

  • December 18, 2025

    FERC Orders PJM To Craft Data Center-Focused Grid Policies

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Thursday took a step to tackle the electricity impacts of data center and artificial intelligence growth, ordering the nation's largest grid operator to create policies for co-locating large electricity users at power plants within its footprint.

  • December 18, 2025

    Uber Injury Claims Barred By Release, Ill. Panel Says

    An Illinois state appeals court has refused to revive a lawsuit seeking to hold Uber liable for the injuries a bicyclist suffered when he was struck by an Uber driver, finding he cannot bring his suit because of a release agreement he signed when he received a payout from Liberty Mutual.

  • December 18, 2025

    Top Trade Secrets Decisions Of 2025

    The Ninth Circuit clarified the rules of engagement in trade secrets disputes with guidance on when confidential information must be precisely detailed during litigation, and jurors delivered a $200 million verdict against Walmart over product freshness technology. Here are Law360's picks for the biggest trade secrets decisions of 2025.

  • December 18, 2025

    Top Product Liability Cases Of 2025

    The Fourth Circuit's decision to unravel an early landmark ruling in litigation over the opioid crisis in a suit brought by West Virginia counties against drug distributors tops Law360's list of product liability cases of the past year, as well as a loss for Tesla in a newsworthy trial over the automaker's Autopilot feature. Here's what other cases garnered attorneys' attention in 2025.

  • December 18, 2025

    7th Circ. Declines To Stay Alcoa Life Insurance Injunction

    An injunction ordering aluminum producer Alcoa USA Corp. to reinstate certain retirees' life insurance benefits will remain active while the company appeals the underlying decision, the Seventh Circuit held Thursday, denying Alcoa's motion to stay the injunction.

  • December 18, 2025

    Menards To Pay $4.25M To End 10 States' Deception Probe

    Menards Inc. will pay $4.25 million to resolve 10 states' investigation into allegedly deceptive marketing tactics they say the Midwestern home-improvement giant used while advertising its merchandise credit check program.

Expert Analysis

  • 3 Cautionary Tales For Cos. Using Facial Recognition Tech

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    Whether a business intends to develop its own facial recognition applications or contract with another company to use such services, three recent case studies should be kept in mind to help lower the risk of litigation or regulatory enforcement, says Adam Nyenhuis at Hilgers Graben.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Communicating With Clients

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    Law school curricula often overlook client communication procedures, and those who actively teach this crucial facet of the practice can create exceptional client satisfaction and success, says Patrick Hanson at Wiggam Law.

  • How State AG Consumer Finance Enforcement Is Expanding

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    As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau becomes less active, state attorneys general are increasingly shaping the enforcement landscape for consumer financial services — and several areas of focus have recently emerged, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • What Businesses Need To Know To Avoid VPPA Class Actions

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    Divergent rulings by the Second, Sixth and Seventh Circuits about the scope of the Video Privacy Protection Act have highlighted the difficulty of applying a statute conceived to regulate the now-obsolete brick-and-mortar video store sector in today's internet economy, say attorneys at DTO Law.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From US Rep. To Boutique Firm

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    My transition from serving as a member of Congress to becoming a partner at a boutique firm has been remarkably smooth, in part because I never stopped exercising my legal muscles, maintained relationships with my former colleagues and set the right tone at the outset, says Mondaire Jones at Friedman Kaplan.

  • Opinion

    Senate's 41% Litigation Finance Tax Would Hurt Legal System

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    The Senate’s latest version of the Big Beautiful Bill Act would impose a 41% tax on the litigation finance industry, but the tax is totally disconnected from the concerns it purports to address, and it would set the country back to a time when small plaintiffs had little recourse against big defendants, says Anthony Sebok at Cardozo School of Law.

  • Series

    Performing As A Clown Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    To say that being a clown in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has changed my legal career would truly be an understatement — by creating an opening to converse on a unique topic, it has allowed me to connect with clients, counsel and even judges on a deeper level, says Charles Tatelbaum at Tripp Scott.

  • Focusing On Fluoride: From FDA To Class Action

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    A class action filed two days after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced plans to remove ingestible fluoride prescription drug products for children from the market may be the tip of the iceberg in terms of the connection between government pronouncements on safety and their immediate use as evidence in lawsuits, says Rachel Turow at Skadden.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Rejecting Biz Dev Myths

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    Law schools don’t spend sufficient time dispelling certain myths that prevent young lawyers from exploring new business opportunities, but by dismissing these misguided beliefs, even an introverted first-year associate with a small network of contacts can find long-term success, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.

  • DOJ Has Deep Toolbox For Corporate Immigration Violations

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    With the U.S. Department of Justice now offering rewards to whistleblowers who report businesses that employ unauthorized workers, companies should understand the immigration enforcement landscape and how they can reduce their risk, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • Trade In Limbo: The Legal Storm Reshaping Trump's Tariffs

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    In the final days of May, decisions in two significant court actions upended the tariff and trade landscape, so until the U.S. Supreme Court rules, businesses and supply chains should expect tariffs to remain in place, and for the Trump administration to continue pursuing and enforcing all available trade policies, say attorneys at Ice Miller.

  • Move Beyond Surface-Level Edits To Master Legal Writing

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    Recent instances in which attorneys filed briefs containing artificial intelligence hallucinations offer a stark reminder that effective revision isn’t just about superficial details like grammar — it requires attorneys to critically engage with their writing and analyze their rhetorical choices, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.

  • 3 Rulings May Reveal Next Frontier Of Gov't Contract Cases

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    Several U.S. Supreme Court decisions over the past year — involving wire fraud, gratuities and obstruction — offer wide-ranging and arguably conflicting takeaways for government contractors that are especially relevant given the Trump administration’s focus on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, say attorneys at Rogers Joseph.

  • 7th Circ. Insurance Ruling Resolves Major Jurisdictional Issue

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    The Seventh Circuit recently confirmed in StarStone Insurance v. Chicago that attorney fees and costs paid as part of a settlement are covered — while unexpectedly raising and answering a question of first impression about federal jurisdiction over foreign entities, says Lara Langeneckert at Barnes & Thornburg.

  • 9th Circ. Has Muddied Waters Of Article III Pleading Standard

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    District courts in the Ninth Circuit continue to apply a defunct and especially forgiving pleading standard to questions of Article III standing, and the circuit court itself has only perpetuated this confusion — making it an attractive forum for disputes that have no rightful place in federal court, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

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