by John E. Motylinski When the General Assembly passed Public Act 101-610 in 2019, it commanded all downstate fire and police pension funds to consolidate their investment assets no later than July 1, 2022. So far, the Illinois Firefighters’ Pension Investment Fund (“FPIF”) has completed five tranches of asset transfer. In late December 2021, the Illinois Police Officers’ Pension Investment …

by Maureen A. Lemon On October 21, 2021, the Illinois Supreme Court dealt the final blow to a lawsuit filed by Illinois school districts seeking adequate State funding in Cahokia Unit School District No. 187 et al., v. Pritzker et al., 2021 IL 126212. The lawsuit was first filed in 2017 by 22 school districts against then-Governor Rauner and the …

by W. Anthony Andrews When a plaintiff files a lawsuit alleging they have been injured, it is common for defendants to subpoena the relevant medical records. Most health care facilities will not provide a plaintiff’s records unless the judge has entered a Qualified Protective Order (“QPO”) that assures compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”). Recently, the …

by Michael Castaldo III The Health Care Right of Conscience Act (“HCRCA”) was enacted to enable certain professionals to refuse to receive or participate in healthcare practices that are contrary to their personal or religious beliefs. (745 ILCS 70/1 et seq.) The Act recognizes that people and organizations hold different beliefs about whether particular healthcare services are morally acceptable and …