The recently enacted Respect for Marriage Act is important bipartisan legislation that will protect same-sex marriage if the Supreme Court overrules Obergefell v. Hodges. And it will protect religious liberty for traditional beliefs about marriage.

Illinois has passed a number of laws effective 1 January 2024 that impact commercial real estate and development. These new laws range from new requirements for residential landlords, first of its kind electric vehicle requirements, to far-reaching revisions to the Illinois Property Tax Code.

When two or more people (whether spouses, friends, or business partners) purchase property, they put significant thought into, among other things, the property's value, appearance and condition, and how they are going to improve the property. They rarely, however, consider how they should take title to the property.

For companies that need to protect their valuable intellectual property, the choice between trade secret and patent protection can be a difficult one. There are benefits to either approach.

There is a saying in the construction industry that there will always be some “bloodletting” in any given construction project and that the goal is to minimize the amount of that bloodletting. To decrease the amount of bloodletting which may be suffered by both homeowners and contractors in home repair and remodeling projects, the State of Illinois passed the Home Repair and Remodeling Act (the Act) in the year 2000.

A New Year is upon us, it is an election year, and a rollback of the federal estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer taxes is scheduled for the not too distant future.

The City of Chicago passed a new ordinance requiring paid leave for its residents. The Chicago Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance, which is effective December 31, 2023, requires Chicago employers to grant its employees who reside within the city 40 hours of paid leave and 40 hours of paid sick leave per a 12-month period.

Over the years, owners and contractors were frequently shocked to learn that there was no insurance that could cover damage caused by inadvertent defective construction. However, that all changed on November 30, when the Illinois Supreme Court, in Acuity v. M/I Homes of Chicago, LLC, aligned Illinois law with the modern trend followed by most other states and acknowledged that there can be coverage for claims arising out of inadvertent defective construction under standard commercial general liability (CGL) insurance policies.

When considering a divorce, most people dread the thought of paying support to an ex-spouse in the wake of a dissolved marriage. Conversely, a spouse may dread the thought of not receiving enough support from their former economic partner. The truth is that spousal support is raised as an issue in nearly every case.

The year 2023 will be remembered as a milestone for the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC, and, together with the DOJ, the “Agencies”) in their efforts to expand antitrust enforcement to labor markets.

In recognition of National Estate Planning Awareness Week, we sat down with Lindsey Paige Markus, a principal with Chuhak & Tecson law firm in Chicago to discuss the top estate planning challenges and considerations that her clients face.

Controversy erupted in 2019 when news broke that the FBI had disregarded its own rules and regulations when it initiated surveillance of Donald Trump’s campaign advisor, Carter Page, as a possible Russian agent. Less publicity has accompanied the fact that this incident was not an anomaly. In fact, revelations of unlawful foreign intelligence surveillance activities have come with alarming regularity over the past two decades.

Some are quick to dismiss asset protection trust planning as too complex or unnecessary. For those not in a "certain tax bracket," this type of planning may seem like an over-reach by an estate planning attorney. There are many reasons, however, to incorporate asset protection trusts into even the simplest estate plan – especially in the context of passing assets to children and grandchildren.

On Friday, August 18, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a landmark decision overturning nearly 30 years of precedent limiting plaintiffs in Title VII cases to claims based on “ultimate employment decisions.” Where previously employment discrimination claims were limited to actions such as “hiring, granting leave, discharging, promoting, and compensating,” employees can now pursue claims based on any discriminatory practice that alters the “terms, conditions, or privileges of their employment.”

The Illinois General Assembly, in May 2023, passed substantial amendments to the Day and Temporary Labor Services Act (DTLSA). On August 4, 2023, Governor J.B. Pritzker signed House Bill (HB) 2862, and the amendments became effective immediately.

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed a new law on August 11, 2023, that will amend the Illinois Equal Pay Act (IEPA) and mandate pay transparency in job postings for most Illinois employers. The law will go into effect on January 1, 2025, and, along with other recent amendments to the IEPA, will have a significant impact on how employers operate in Illinois.

When a couple that is in love decides to get married no one wants to think about how it might end in divorce, but to protect their assets sometimes a pre-nuptial agreement is necessary. No one should avoid making major business moves while they are in the honeymoon phase because the future is ultimately unpredictable—this is just as true for business partnerships as it is for traditional marriages.

Estate planning professionals help clients look ahead and anticipate future contingencies. By necessity, however, estate plans are crafted based on laws and circumstances existing at the time they are put in place. This means that even the most thoughtful estate plan should be revisited from time to time.

On May 19, 2023, the Illinois General Assembly passed substantial amendments to the Day and Temporary Labor Services Act, 820 ILCS 175, through House Bill (HB) 2862. The amendments expand the rights of day and temporary workers and mandate increased safety oversight by both day and temporary labor service agencies and third-party clients that utilize such workers.

Until recently, if someone had one dollar over the $2,000 asset limit, they would not qualify for Medicaid in Illinois. Most states have a similar asset limit. However, seemingly out of the blue, word recently began to spread around the Elder Law community that Illinois was raising this asset limit to $17,500.