Illinois State Senate
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Recent News About Illinois State Senate
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Justices hear oral arguments on red light camera class-action suit
BEAUMONT -- The Ninth Court of Appeals heard oral arguments Oct. 27, regarding the city of Willis' red light camera ordinance. -
Texas attorney general seeks to protect homeowners’ tax cuts
AUSTIN — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton recently supported a property tax lawsuit against the Kilgore Independent School District. -
Freeing the False Claims Act
Thirty years ago, President Reagan signed the False Claims Amendments Act of 1986, an anti-fraud measure whose extraordinary success is a timely reminder of what’s possible when Washington acts in a focused, bipartisan spirit. -
Labor Pains
When thinking about the National Labor Relations Board under President Obama, most observers recall the 2014 decision in NLRB v. Noel Canning, in which the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Obama’s kangaroo-court “recess appointments”—made when the Senate was not actually in recess—were invalid. -
Federal court hears arguments in EPA Clean Power Plan case
WASHINGTON — A coalition of states argued in federal court that the EPA has overstepped its authority with proposed emission standards that would require states such as West Virginia to revamp its primary energy source and economic model. -
Texas attorney general intervenes In Homestead Exemption case against Texas school districts
AUSTIN – Attorney General Ken Paxton has intervened in a case involving property tax that he alleges violates the Texas Constitution and state law. -
Like Scalia, U.S. judicial nominees for Texas frown upon use of restatements
WASHINGTON – On Sept. 7 the U.S. -
Judicial Rebellion Against Voter ID
Like unruly schoolchildren using the presence of a substitute teacher as an opportunity to misbehave, in Veasey v. Abbott, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, sitting en banc, has sent the jurisprudential equivalent of a spitball at the U.S. Supreme Court knowing that the deadlocked Court would probably take no corrective action. -
Academics express concern about pending patent reform
A coalition of more than 25 academics has submitted a letter to members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives expressing concern over pending patent reform. The group said its concerns were largely with changes proposed to litigation venue rules. -
Unenforced Texas 'Any Willing Provider' statute hurts pharmacies, patients and community, industry spokesman says
The Texas Attorney General's recently released opinion that a two-decade-old statute can't be enforced is causing problems for more than just patients who can't use the pharmacy of their choice, a spokesman for an industry trade group said in a recent interview. -
Dear Colleague’s Letter of the Law
Societal attitudes and mores can and do change dramatically over time, but (aside from Humpty Dumpty) the meaning of commonly understood words does not. Slavery, existing at the Founding, was abolished following the Civil War through the 13th and 14th amendments to the Constitution. Suffrage, which many states could and did restrict to white men (and literate property owners at that), was eventually extended to blacks and women through the 15th and 19th amendments. -
Akerman adds 30 lawyers from Beirne Maynard and Parsons
HOUSTON – Akerman LLP, a top 100 U.S. law firm with offices across the United States, recently added 30 lawyers from the major international firm Beirne Maynard and Parsons. Akerman LLP is well known for work in the financial services sector. -
Fifth Circuit finds Texas voter ID law discriminatory
AUSTIN – On July 20 the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals found Texas’s photo ID law, seen as one of the strictest in the nation, in violation of federal laws prohibiting discrimination. -
Paxton asks congressional leaders to stop agency overreach
AUSTIN — Attorney General Ken Paxton and a coalition of 14 other state attorneys general in asking Congress to rein in federal agencies that create and enforce regulations. -
Learning the Lesson of Tiananmen Square — and Reminding China
You do not change authoritarian regimes by enriching them while leaving their crimes against their own people unmentioned. -
U.S. senators call out DOJ in Vascular Solutions case
WASHINGTON – A pair of U.S. -
Paxton clarifies question on tax on oil production
The Attorney General of Texas has issued an opinion clarifying that the state no longer taxes crude oil petroleum produced in Texas. -
ACCESS ACT meant to protect disabled and small businesses instead of enriching lawyers
WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA), who is sponsoring the ACCESS (ADA Compliance for Customer Entry to Stores and Services) Act, will testify before the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Constitution and Civil Justice today on behalf of the bill he says will help stop plaintiffs’ lawyers from “trying to enrich themselves on the backs of the disabled.” -
SCOTUS says states may base voter districts on total population
AUSTIN — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton declared victory following the U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous decision that states may base election districts on the total population, rather than just eligible voters. -
VENUE Act aims to lessen ease of filing patent lawsuits in Eastern District of Texas
A recently proposed bill in the U.S. Senate may be the key to curbing the rampant patent lawsuit abuse in the plaintiff-friendly Eastern District of Texas jurisdiction.