Recent Blog Posts
Is Illinois Finally Ready for Criminal Sentencing Reform?
A call for criminal sentencing reform at the state and local levels is being spearheaded by both Republicans and Democrats in Illinois. In the past, the raising of criminal sentencing standards was used to respond to particularly atrocious crimes. However, the ad hoc increase in criminal sentencing standards has been blamed by many as causing the overcrowding of prisons, and the unnecessary extension of incarceration based on sometimes arbitrary sentencing standards. In Illinois specifically, the occurrence of a particularly bad crime has often been met with sentence enhancements as an easy fix to the underlying problem. However, the extreme physical and financial limitations of Illinois' correctional and criminal justice systems has required Illinois legislatures to reevaluate the knee jerk reactions that have motivated past sentence enhancements.
New Bill May Provide Opportunities for Job Seekers With Criminal Backgrounds
Criminal histories have served as a significant barrier for past criminals looking for a new start. Currently, almost every standard employment application requires an applicant to list past criminal history, including convictions. No matter how long ago criminal acts were performed, those who truthfully respond to such questions typically have their applications thrown in the trash. However, the civil rights organizations in Illinois are hoping to change this. Under the proposed Job Opportunities for Qualified Applicants Act, also known as the Ban-the-Box bill, job employers would not be able to question an applicant about criminal history until later in the employment process, after an employment application has been submitted.
The Job Opportunities for Qualified Applicants Act
Illinois Bans Ticket Quotas for Traffic Violations
New legislation signed into action by Governor Pat Quinn may quell some complaints about the high costs that come with operating a vehicle in Illinois. This legislation provides an official ban prohibiting all Illinois police departments from placing ticketing quotas on police officers. Governor Quinn stated his support for the legislation, which he believes will encourage officers to exercise their sound discretion and judgment when ticketing for traffic violations. In a recent press release Governor Quinn went on record stating that “This new law will improve safety and working conditions for police officers and prevent motorists from facing unnecessary anxiety when they encounter a police vehicle.”
Extensive Changes Could Be Coming to Illinois Divorce & Custody Laws
Two very different family law bills are in front of Illinois state legislatures for review and revision. The first bill, presented by Illinois State Representative Kelly Burke, is an expansive omnibus bill that creates new standards and regulations for the Illinois state family laws. The second bill, presented by Representative Cabello, sets more specific goals, including minimum parenting time standards for divorced couples. In the upcoming months state representatives here in Illinois could be forced to choose between these two different laws. These bills could have significant impact on various realms of family law, and it is important to consult with an experienced attorney to answer any legal questions that you may have.
Representative Burke's Omnibus Bill
Criminal Justice Reforms May Soon Be Coming to Illinois
On March 24, 2014, House Bill 5899 was approved by the Illinois House of Representatives. Presented by State Representative Tom Cross, the Bill's goal is to bring about sweeping reforms to the current criminal justice system in Illinois. The Bill's primary goal is to prevent and/or eliminate false convictions, identifications, and confessions that are allegedly present within criminal prosecutions throughout the state of Illinois. Though the Bill has not been officially passed into law, our criminal law attorneys are carefully watching the progression of the Bill in order to determine what impacts it will have on the current Illinois criminal justice system.
What is Criminal Justice Reform?
Criminal justice reform encompasses actions committed by social justice activists and legislators, intended to create a more balanced and fair criminal prosecution process at the local, state, and federal level. Criminal justice reform spans a wide range of criminal law issues including prisoners' rights, stop and frisk policies, and penal discretion, just to name a few.
Conscious Uncoupling and Other Methods for Achieving a Conflict-Free Divorce
The announcement of actress Gwyneth Paltrow and Coldplay's Chris Martin's divorce had the internet abuzz in March, with much of the attention surrounding what they're calling a “conscious uncoupling”. The concept of conscious uncoupling, along with other forms of alternative dispute resolution, such as mediation, present amicable approaches for families going through divorce.
Katherine Woodward Thomas and Conscious Uncoupling
Katherine Woodward Thomas is a relationship expert and bestselling author who believes that she has found the key for consciously ending a relationship on positive terms for both parties. Through the Conscious Uncoupling 5 Week Program, Thomas promises a conflict-free approach to the ending of relationships by assisting couples in the avoidance of what Woodward sees as “three main breakup mistakes that cause suffering, steal joy and prevent love.” Both non-married couples, as well as those going through divorces, such as Paltrow, tout the benefits of the program, which can be taken online via Woodward's website. The main theory of conscious uncoupling revolves around the expression and release of painful emotions that are ever present when a couple ends their union. Conscious uncoupling is in no way a replacement for the actual divorce process, but it can and has been used as a means to help facilitate a conflict-free divorce.
School State Crime Database Not Being Utilized by Illinois Public Schools
Did you know that there is a rarely discussed state government database that tracks crimes occurring in the Illinois public school system? The School Incident Reporting System (“SIRS”) has been maintained by the Illinois State Board of Education (“ISBE”) and is legally required to provide information regarding assaults, batteries, and drug offenses that have occurred in all Illinois public schools. However, the lack of public awareness of the database is great, and many Illinois area public schools have not held up their end of the bargain when it comes to properly reporting instances of criminal activity occurring in Illinois public schools.
The NBC 5 Report on SIRS
NBC 5 Investigates in Chicago conducted an in-depth investigation of the SIRS. The investigation's findings were daunting regarding Chicago area and suburban schools inactivity in reporting criminal activities occurring in Illinois public schools. It was found that less than a third of Chicago area schools have reported incidents of criminal activity. This is a big issue because further investigations of reports submitted to SIRS by Cook, Kane, McHenry, Will, and DuPage counties found over a thousand reports of drug activity, gang violence, and other assaults against school personnel and students. These facts indicate that there is a lot of violence and other criminal activity occurring in Illinois public schools of which parents are not aware.
State Audit of Illinois Anti-Violence Program Finds Great Problems
In 2010, during Gov. Pat Quinn's reelection campaign, the Illinois Anti-Violence Program (“IAVP”) was created. Known officially as the Neighborhood Recovery Initiative, the program was created with the lofty goal of reducing violence throughout Chicago and Cook County via job placements, school counseling, and parenting skill training aimed at those most at risk for violence within the community. At the end of February, Auditor General William Holland conducted an extensive investigation of the program, finding that it had been “hastily implemented.”
Goals of the Illinois Anti-Violence Program
The purpose of the IAVP was to foster anti-violence prevention in Cook County by targeting those most affected by violence, as well as those perpetuating violence throughout local neighborhoods. The program, which cost $54.5 million over two years, was intended to crush gang violence prevalent throughout certain Chicago communities. The IAVP's specific focus was youth ages 16 through 24, and provided traditional summer programs and other forms of community outreach.
Medical Marijuana and the Gun Control Debate Take an Interesting Turn in Illinois
The firearms debate in Illinois has taken an interesting turn. The federal government's stance that a person should not both legally hold a firearm, while also having a prescription for medical marijuana, has recently appeared in Illinois' most recent draft of medical marijuana regulation. The criminal law attorneys here at the Law Offices of Cosmo Tedone and Barbara Morton, P.C. are carefully watching the implications of this interpretation, and its possible effect of criminalizing those medical marijuana users who are also legal gun owners under state law.
The Medical Marijuana-Firearm Debate
Additional Rights to Come for Same-Sex Couples in Illinois
Under Connecticut state law, same-sex couples are already afforded the same rights as their heterosexual counterparts. Now, the United States Justice Department's new guidance on how federal employees should treat and consider same-sex couples presents new rights for same-sex couples in Connecticut, as well as throughout the rest of the U.S.
The U.S. Justice Department's Announcement
In 2013, the landmark decision reached by the U.S. Supreme Court in U.S. v. Windsor struck down section three of the Defense Of Marriage Act (“DOMA”), which defined marriage as only between a man and a woman. The Justice Department has now released guidance on how the outcome in Windsor should be interpreted and carried out at the federal level.
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