OPINION Justice FREEMAN delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 Defendant, Marina Kladis, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) (625 ILCS 5/11-501(a)(2) (West 2006)). She requested that the State produce the video recording of the stop made by the camera located in the arresting officer's vehicle. After the State destroyed the recording, the circuit court of Cook County granted defendant's motion for sanctions and barred the State from introducing...
OPINION JUSTICE KARMEIER delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 The central issue in this case is whether the circuit court of Du Page County erred when it denied Ralph L.'s motion to set aside a finding that he had defaulted on a petition by the State to terminate his parental rights to his daughter, Haley D., and entered a default judgment terminating Ralph's parental rights over the child. The appellate court held that the proceedings did not comport with due process...
OPINION JUSTICE THOMAS delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 This case presents the following question: When a police officer suffers a catastrophic injury in the line of duty, when does the officer's employer become statutorily obligated to pay the entire health insurance premium for the injured officer and his family The circuit court of Cook County held that the obligation attaches upon a determination that the officer is permanently disabled and therefore never returning...
OPINION JUSTICE KARMEIER delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 The central issue in this case is whether the circuit court of Du Page County erred when it denied Ralph L.'s motion to set aside a finding that he had defaulted on a petition by the State to terminate his parental rights to his daughter, Haley D., and entered a default judgment terminating Ralph's parental rights over the child. The appellate court held that the proceedings did not comport with due process...
OPINION Justice THEIS delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 Defendant Victor Villa was convicted by a Boone County jury of aggravated battery with a firearm and aggravated discharge of a firearm under an accountability theory and was sentenced to concurrent terms of imprisonment of 14 years and five years, respectively. The appellate court affirmed the trial court. 403 Ill.App.3d 309 , 342 Ill.Dec. 199 , 932 N.E.2d 90 . The principal issue before this court is whether...
OPINION Justice THOMAS delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 Following a bench trial in the circuit court of Cook County, defendant, Irit Gutman, was convicted of theft (720 ILCS 5/16-1 (West 2000)), vendor fraud (305 ILCS 5/8A-3 (West 2000)), and money laundering (720 ILCS 5/29B-1 (West 2000)). The trial court sentenced defendant to 66 months' imprisonment and ordered her to pay $1.2 million in restitution. The appellate court upheld defendant's theft and vendor fraud...
OPINION Chief Justice KILBRIDE delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 This appeal asks us to determine whether the State performed a "diligent inquiry" to ascertain respondent's current and last known address, as required for service by publication under section 2-16(2) of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 (the Act) (705 ILCS 405/2-16(2) (West 2006)), and necessary for the trial court to obtain personal jurisdiction in this case. The circuit court of McLean County terminated...
OPINION Justice THOMAS delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 This case presents the following question: When a police officer suffers a catastrophic injury in the line of duty, when does the officer's employer become statutorily obligated to pay the entire health insurance premium for the injured officer and his family The circuit court of Cook County held that the obligation attaches upon a determination that the officer is permanently disabled and therefore never returning...
OPINION Justice KARMEIER delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 The central issue in this case is whether the circuit court of Du Page County erred when it denied Ralph L.'s motion to set aside a finding that he had defaulted on a petition by the State to terminate his parental rights to his daughter, Haley D., and entered a default judgment terminating Ralph's parental rights over the child. The appellate court held that the proceedings did not comport with due process...
OPINION Justice BURKE delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 The principal issue presented in this case is whether under the so-called "silent witness" theory, a videotape recording was properly admitted at defendant's trial. The appellate court held that it was not and reversed defendant's conviction for misdemeanor theft. 398 Ill.App.3d 74 , 337 Ill.Dec. 658 , 922 N.E.2d 1235 . For the reasons that follow, we reverse the judgment of the appellate court. 2 BACKGROUND...
OPINION Justice KARMEIER delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 Plaintiff, Janet Bell, individually and as special administrator of the estate of her son, Daniel Bell, filed an action in the circuit court of Lake County seeking damages from the defendants, Jeffrey and Sara Hutsell, as a result of Daniel's death. Daniel died in an automobile accident after allegedly consuming alcoholic beverages at defendants' residence. Ultimately, defendants filed a motion to dismiss pursuant...
OPINION Justice THOMAS delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 Plaintiffs, Frances Sheffler, Mark Resnik, and Debra Sloan, individually and on behalf of Jason Sloan, filed a complaint on behalf of a putative class against defendant, Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd), seeking damages and injunctive relief for power outages to their homes following severe storms. Plaintiffs filed an initial complaint, followed by a first, second and third amended complaint. The circuit court...
OPINION Justice THEIS delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 In this appeal, we are asked to clarify the duty analysis in a negligent-product-design case. Plaintiffs, Dora Mae and John L. Jablonski, Jr., as the special administrator and personal representative of the estate of John L. Jablonski, Sr., brought this action in the circuit court of Madison County against Ford Motor Company, alleging, inter alia, negligent design of the 1993 Lincoln Town Car's fuel tank and...
OPINION Justice KARMEIER delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 Following a bench trial in the circuit court of Cook County, defendant, Kenyatta White, was convicted of first degree murder for the shooting death of Aramein Brown. Defendant was subsequently sentenced to 55 years' imprisonment. Defendant appealed, arguing, inter alia, that he was denied his sixth amendment right to counsel where the police barred his attorney from observing witnesses when they identified the...
OPINION Justice GARMAN delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 Plaintiffs, Amy and Jeff Clark, individually and on behalf of their minor son, Timothy, filed a 16-count complaint against several defendants. Their claims included wrongful birth and negligent infliction of emotional distress. The circuit court of Cook County ruled that the damages available in a wrongful-birth action do not include the extraordinary costs of caring for a disabled child after he reaches the age of...
OPINION Justice GARMAN delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 On June 20, 2007, the Administrator of the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission filed a one-count complaint against respondent, Mark Gerard Mulroe. The complaint alleged that respondent converted third-party funds; failed to hold property of a third person that was in his possession in connection with a representation separate from his own property, in violation of Rule 1.15(a) of the Illinois Rules of...
OPINION Chief Justice KILBRIDE delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 In this appeal, we address whether Illinois Pattern Jury Instructions, Civil, No. 105.01 (2006) (IPI Civil (2006) No. 105.01) correctly states Illinois law on the standard of care in professional negligence cases. Plaintiff, Jane Studt, filed a medical malpractice action in the circuit court of Kane County against defendant, Sherman Health Systems, doing business as Sherman Hospital. Jane alleged the...
OPINION Justice FREEMAN delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 The circuit court of Lake County certified several questions of law for interlocutory appeal (Ill. S.Ct. R. 308 (eff.Feb.1, 1994)). The appellate court concluded that its answers to the following two questions were dispositive. First, does the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA) (47 U.S.C. 227 (2000)) require that the Illinois General Assembly enact legislation to enable Illinois state courts...
OPINION Justice THEIS delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. The core issue in this appeal is whether plaintiff taxpayers are entitled to judgment interest under section 2-1303 of the Code of Civil Procedure (735 ILCS 5/2-1303 (West 2006)) on fixed judgments of outstanding interest owed under section 23-20 of the Property Tax Code (Code) (35 ILCS 200/23-20 (West 2006)). For the reasons that follow, we hold that judgment interest may be awarded pursuant to section 2-1303 on the set...
OPINION Justice GARMAN delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. This case presents the question of whether a provision allowing either party to an insurance contract to demand a trial de novo following arbitration is unenforceable when it appears in an underinsured-motorist policy. For the reasons below, we hold that such provisions are enforceable. BACKGROUND The facts are not in dispute. On April 19, 2001, Martha Rosen was injured in an accident with another driver. The other...
