On March 18, 2020, President Donald Trump signed into law the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (H.R. 6201), an emergency measure to assist Americans during the COVID-19 outbreak. The Act provides many benefits, including two types of temporary employee benefits. All public and private employees are covered by those benefits, unless they work for companies with 500 or more employees. …

A recent executive order by Governor J.B. Pritzker suspends portions of the Open Meetings Act, 5 ILCS 120 et seq., and allows local government meetings to occur without in-person attendance. As health officials urge residents to practice “social distancing” to combat the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), public bodies face a significant challenge in adhering to the Act’s requirement that a quorum …

On December 4, 2019, the Illinois State Board of Education issued an Emergency Amendment to the Emergency Rule regarding the Use of Time Out and Physical Restraint. The initial Emergency Rule (“Emergency Rule”), which went into effect on November 20, 2019 for 150 days, addressed both Time Out and Physical Restraint. The Emergency Rule is available on the ISBE website …