City’s “Criticism Policy” Faces Uphill Legal Challenge Under the First Amendment
October 28, 2024 By Courtney P. Willits Last month, Rebekah Massie, a private citizen, brought a federal lawsuit against the […]
Category: Client Alerts
Back to all postsSupreme Court Upholds Oregon Anti-Camping Ordinance: City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Gloria Johnson, et al.
July 8, 2024 By Caitlyn Culbertson On Friday, June 28, 2024, the United States Supreme Court issued its opinion in […]
Supreme Court Issues Opinion on Social Media Practices Affecting Public Officials
March 21, 2024 By Kelsea Neal Nolot and Marcus Martinez On March 15, 2024, the United States Supreme Court issued […]
New Accessibility Guidelines for Pedestrian Facilities in Public Rights-of-Way Could Require Local Government Action
February 6, 2024 By Kelsea Neal Nolot Under a series of recent U.S. District Court cases and new administrative rulemaking, […]
Amendments to Illinois’ Foreign Fire Insurance License Fee Program Prohibit Municipal Regulation but Provide Much Needed Clarity
December 2, 2022 By Brooke D. Leneman In May, 2022, the Illinois General Assembly approved Public Act 102-0740 (“Act”), which dramatically […]
FEMA Announces New Local Elected and Appointed Officials Guide for Emergency and Disaster Preparedness
November 1, 2022 By Kelley A. Gandurski Last month, FEMA published a new guide (linked here) for local government senior […]
Chicago City Council Expands Transit-Served Location Zoning Regulations
July 26, 2022 By Liz Butler On July 20, 2022, the Chicago City Council adopted the Equitable Transit Oriented Development […]
U.S. Supreme Court Strikes Down New York State Gun Licensing Law: A Summary of New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc., et al. v. Bruen, Superintendent of New York State Police, et al.
June 27, 2022 By Caitlyn R. Culbertson In 1905, the State of New York adopted a law requiring all persons […]
Illinois General Assembly Approves Revisions to Special Property Tax Assessment Legislation for Affordable Rental Housing
April 4, 2022 By Liz Butler On Friday April 1, 2022, the Illinois General Assembly passed Senate Bill 3895 (the “2022 Amendment”), an […]
Lobbying Local Government Officials Now Triggers Registration Requirements
March 30, 2022 By Liz Butler and Peter Friedman New for 2022, Illinois has enacted a significant change to the […]
Local Government Board Censures Do Not Violate First Amendment: United States Supreme Court
March 28, 2022 BY MARCUS MARTINEZ In our current climate of political polarization, there are few things on which the […]
FEDERAL VACCINE MANDATE UPDATE: Local Public Employers Should Prepare to Comply – Supreme Court to Hear Oral Arguments This Week
January 5, 2021 BY BROOKE LENNEMAN I. Applicability to State and Local Government Employers: The federal vaccine mandate […]
U.S. Supreme Court Considers Constitutionality of “Off-Premise” Sign Regulations Under First Amendment
December 7, 2021 BY BRAEDEN LORD On November 10, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in City of […]
New Whistleblower Statute Imposes Local Government Obligations
November 23, 2021 BY BROOKE LENNEMAN Public Act 101-0652, known as the SAFE-T ACT, amended the Illinois Public Officer Prohibited […]
US Supreme Court to Decide Whether a Local Government Board Can Censure One of its Members
September 29, 2021 BY PETER FRIEDMAN On November 2, 2021, the US Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Houston […]
Attention Cook County Property Tax Incentive Recipients: New Chicago Annual Reporting Requirements Go into Effect August 1, 2021
July 6, 2021 BY LIZ BUTLER Beginning August 1, 2021, any recipient of City of Chicago consent and support for […]
Yes, In My Backyard: Chicago’s Additional Dwelling Unit (ADU) Pilot Program in Effect as of May 1, 2021
May 4, 2021 BY LIZ BUTLER Chicago’s Additional Dwelling Unit Ordinance (“ADU Ordinance”) went into effect on May 1, 2021. […]
Revisions to the City of Chicago Affordable Requirements Ordinance Set for a Hearing on April 15, 2021
April 12, 2021 BY LIZ BUTLER The City of Chicago’s Affordable Requirements Ordinance, in its current form, has been in […]
A Proposed Change to Chicago Zoning Rules May Authorize Future Residential Uses in Fulton Market
MARCH 31, 2021 BY LIZ BUTLER AND HART PASSMAN (Image source: City of Chicago Kinzie Industrial Corridor – Fulton […]
Chicago City Council Adopts Mayor’s Air Quality Ordinance Including Sweeping New Zoning Rules for Industrial Developments
BY LIZ BUTLER AND PETER FRIEDMAN On March 24, 2021, the Chicago City Council adopted Ordinance 2020-4590, an amendment to […]
Fulton Market Innovation District Plan Update Promotes Residential Development North of Lake Street and May Expand Reach of Transit-Served Location Ordinance
BY LIZ BUTLER AND HART PASSMAN Fulton Market Innovation District Study Area, 2020. (Source: Fulton Market Innovation District Plan […]
2016 Transportation Lockbox Constitutional Amendment Does Not Restrict Home Rule Taxes
BY PETER FRIEDMAN In the November 2016 general election, Illinois voters approved a constitutional amendment known as the “Safe Roads […]
Considerations for Employers Concerning COVID-19 Vaccinations
BY ANDREW FISKE As COVID-19 vaccinations begin, employers are considering whether they can – or should – require employees to […]
U.S. Supreme Court Tightens Scrutiny on Regulations Impacting Religion
BY PETER FRIEDMAN Just before midnight on the night before Thanksgiving, the United States Supreme Court temporarily enjoined New York […]
Litigation Update: State and Federal Courts Continue to Uphold the Constitutionality of COVID-19 Executive Orders (with the exception of the Clay County Circuit Court)
BY JEFFREY MONTELEONE AND PETER FRIEDMAN Two notable court decisions decided recently upheld the constitutionality and enforceability of Governor Pritzker’s […]
New State Law Creates COVID-Specific Disability Benefits Extension and Increases Protections for Retail Employees
BY ANDREW FISKE Public employers should note that Public Act 101-0651 (“Act”), signed by Governor Pritzker on August 7, 2020, […]
New Emergency Proclamation and Executive Orders Move Illinois Into Phase 4
On Friday June 26, 2020, Governor Pritzker issued a new Emergency Disaster Proclamation and Executive Orders 2020-43 and 2020-44, officially […]
Best Practices for Public Participation in Virtual Public Meetings and Public Hearings
By Stewart J. Weiss & Andrew N. Fiske In the short interim since Governor Pritzker issued a statewide “Stay at […]
Governor Pritzker’s Open Meetings Act Suspension Authorized Under State Law During Covid-19 Emergency
By Peter Friedman, Jeffrey Monteleone, and Benjamin Schuster On March 13, 2020, Governor Pritzker issued Executive Order 2020-07 pursuant to […]
Illinois General Assembly Formally Relaxes Open Meetings Act
In March 2020, shortly after issuing his first proclamation of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Pritzker issued an […]
Coronavirus Local Government Impacts: Action Items and Analysis
The COVID-19 coronavirus is at the forefront of public concern. Information and guidance at the federal and state levels continues […]
Additional COVID-19 Coronavirus Guidance Municipal Public Health Emergency Powers Mayors and Presidents
As response efforts ramp up to reduce and slow the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, we understand public officials, and […]
Responding to Freedom of Information Act Requests During the Coronavirus Emergency
By Benjamin Schuster and Mark Burkland In normal times, a public body’s compliance with the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) […]
New COVID-19 Employee Leave Provisions to Take Effect On April 2, 2020
By Andrew Fiske On March 18, the president signed into law the “Families First Coronavirus Response Act”, which creates new […]
Elrod Friedman Covid-19 Alert #5 – An Analysis of Governor Pritzker’s “Stay At Home Executive Order from a Local Government Perspective
On March 20, 2020, Governor Pritzker issued Executive Order 2020-10 (Covid-19 Executive Order No. 8, the “Executive Order”), a wide-ranging […]