Posted on November 24, 2013 in Child Custody

The Supreme Court of Illinois recently rejected a Lake County mother's attempts at garnishing her ex-husband's paycheck for child support.

The case involves a woman named Jennifer Schultz. She filed a complaint in Lake County circuit court against Performance Lighting, Inc., her husband's employer. The woman wanted to recover the $100 statutory penalty from the company for failing to withhold child support from her ex-husband's paychecks.

Child support wage garnishment is a process that demands strict adherence to statutory requirements. One of the requirements under Illinois's Income Withholding for Support Act is that a child support order needs to contain the name and social security number of the person whose wages are to be garnished.

In this case, the employer ignored the mother's request for wage garnishments because she failed to include her ex-husband's social security number in her notice of withholding. Moreover a "Uniform Order for Support" issued by a district court also did not include the social security number or name of the husband.

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 Posted on November 22, 2013 in Expungement

If you have a prior conviction on your record and have ever tried to get a job, you understand the problem: the employer is going to ask you if you have any convictions and you are obligated to disclose that you do. For many employers, this is a deal-breaker, and upon seeing a prior conviction, they will move on to the next candidate. This leaves you in the precarious position of not being able to obtain gainful employment, no matter how hard you try, because of a past mistake.

Both conviction and arrest records are public, so potential employers can actually see if you have been arrested for an offense; even if you were not charged. Those of us who work in the field of criminal law appreciate that there is a huge difference between being charged for a crime and being convicted–police officers make errors all of the time. But potential employers are far less forgiving.

However, there is some good news. The State of Illinois understands this dilemma and has come up with a way to seal arrests and certain criminal convictions, making it so employers (and anyone who runs a background check) cannot see them. This is what an expungement is. Basically, an expungement erases your criminal records and lets you start off fresh again.

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 Posted on November 20, 2013 in Criminal Defense

Among all the crimes in Illinois, domestic abuse is among those treated most seriously by prosecutors and judges. Domestic abuse is defined by two elements. First, there is an act of violence. This can be an assault or a battery. That means that there does not necessarily need to be any force or physical touching involved. It is possible to get an assault charge for merely making threats to someone.

For example, each of the following can be considered domestic abuse:

• Spousal abuse

• Child abuse

• Criminal violations of Orders of Protection

• Assault

• Battery

• Stalking

• Harassment/telephone harassment

• Threats

The second element of a domestic assault charge is the victim. What makes domestic abuse “domestic” is the victim. In Illinois there are several types of victims that qualify as domestic abuse victims, they are:

• Family or household members

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 Posted on November 14, 2013 in DUI

A Chicago man has been charged after allegedly causing a crash that injured nine individuals, including four police officers.

Authorities say that the crash happened on the Far South Side last week when the man was traveling in a Nissan Altima on the 10200 block of South Indianpolis Avenue. CBS Chicago reports that the man hit an unmarked police car conducting a traffic cop shortly after midnight on Monday and caused a chain reaction.

Chicago Police News Affairs Officer Jose Estrada says that the 69-year-old man's car rear-ended the squad car. The police car was pushed into a Chevy Tahoe and another cop car assisting with the stop was also hit.

The driver faces a host of charges including felony aggravated DUI causing an accident involving bodily harm. The man was also charged with two misdemeanor DUI counts, and negligent driving.

Drunk driving charges can be fought in several ways including demonstrating that a blood-alcohol test was conducted using faulty test equipment or that the person conducting the test was not qualified.

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 Posted on November 14, 2013 in DUI/DWI

Drinking alcohol is dangerous for people of all ages even if they are old enough to drink legally. The law is not meant just to get people in trouble, it is to protect them, which is why the punishments can be so severe.

Not only is consuming alcohol illegal, but those under 21 cannot even transport or have alcohol in their possession. If someone underage is caught transporting alcohol in their vehicle, they can be fined up to $500 and receive a jail sentence of up to six months. The exception to this law is if a person under the age of 21 is transporting alcohol for employment or under the order of his or her parents.

If someone underage is caught drinking and driving, their punishment will be even more severe than someone who is of age because they will have broken multiple laws. If someone underage registers a Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) of 0.08 or higher while driving, he or she may be sentenced to 30 days in jail and be fined up to $500.

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 Posted on November 11, 2013 in Your Rights

May Molina was a community activist for many years in the city of Chicago. Even with her diabetes, asthma, and inability to go anywhere without a wheelchair, she still voiced her opinion against the Chicago Police Department. She was especially adamant her son’s wrongful lockup for a crime he did not commit. In 2004, her voice was silenced after being locked up for drug possession.

For 24 hours in lockup at the police station, Molina was without her medicine. Other inmates at the time as well as her attorney notified the police on duty that Molina was becoming breathless and confused. No one acted on their warning and within a few hours, Molina was found dead in her cell.

Recently, the surviving family of May Molina has decided to filed a civil suit against the Chicago Police Department. When May was arrested, she had asked the officers to bring her medicine but she was denied. May’s family is claiming in the suit that the city normally denies medical requests of inmates at holding cells of Chicago police departments.

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 Posted on November 07, 2013 in Illinois Laws

Senator Julie Morrisonhas sponsored a bill, which along with other measures will make waterways safer next year. For Morrison, this bill is personal. In 2012, her nephew, 10 year old Anthony Borcia was killed after falling off a tube on Petite Lake in Northern Illinois. Morrison stated that “for me, this law is about turning a personal tragedy into an opportunity to protect other people. Last summer, my nephew was killed by a boater under the influence of drugs and alcohol. I’m doing everything I can to keep other families from experiencing our loss.”

The person responsible for Tony’s death was David Hatyina. He was sentenced to ten years in jail after pleading guilty to operating a motorboat while under the influence of alcohol and cocaine. His blood alcohol level while operating his boat was between .09 and .12, which is over the legal limit.

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 Posted on November 03, 2013 in Criminal Defense

Federal authorities recently charged a former Cook County Forest Reserve District engineer with accepting "kickbacks" in the course of two district contracts.

Networking is an important part of many major business deals. Often individuals who are responsible for making a business deal or contract happen receive incentives from a grateful contractor or business partner.

While these incentives are common and accepted in the private sector, these types of arrangements can result in serious charges against public employees.

Federal authorities charged Joseph Mollica, a former engineer for the Cook County Forest Preserve, with federal bribery. Authorities say that Mollica had the ability to influence and award contracts for public work done under $25,000 and use this power to accept cash payments from contractors.

"Together, the indictment and complaint allege that on Oct. 14, 2011, Mollica accepted a $6,000 kickback from a $24,900 contract to refinish and refurbish the Forest Preserve District's headquarters building, where he worked, located at 536 N. Harlem Ave., in River Forest," Federal authorities said in a press release. "On Dec. 16, 2011, he allegedly accepted a $4,000 kickback from a $16,500 contract to power wash and stain the building and boardwalk and do caulking at the Sand Ridge Nature Center in Calumet City."

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 Posted on November 03, 2013 in Criminal Defense

We have all heard that texting while driving is dangerous, and that texting distracts drivers and endangers passengers and other drivers on the road. No one wants their child in a vehicle while the driver is texting or otherwise distracted from the road.

What about a vehicle with a bunch of child passengers and a texting driver? One Florida school bus driver decided to use her cell phone while driving a bus full of middle school students home from school.

A 14-year-old girl pulled out her phone to record her bus driver swearing and yelling at the students, but instead caught the driver texting.

In the video, the driver was shown driving with one hand on the wheel and the other holding her phone, texting. Her eyes were on the phone, not on the road.

ABC news reported on the video in which the bus driver jerked the wheel, apparently after drifting into another lane, and then continued to text.

This bus driver has been suspended for violating the school districts policy, but Florida’s texting while driving law does not go into effect until October, and even then, it excludes bus drivers, who will be under the power of the school that they work for.

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 Posted on October 30, 2013 in Your Rights

Being accused of shoplifting can be a very embarrassing experience, and there’s a tendency to want to work with store managers or security personnel to clear the air. As an accused shoplifter, however, you have rights, too. If you have been accused of or charged with shoplifting, you could face penalties or fines, so contact a Chicagocriminal defense attorney immediately.

Stores across Illinois, like Jewel-Osco, are serious about shoplifting and are taking measures to reduce occurrences. This chain has taken self-checkout stations away with a growing concern that people were not paying for their items. Sometimes, however, customers are accused of shoplifting when they did nothing wrong, being pressured to admit to a crime they never committed. Being accused of shoplifting is both stressful and humiliating, especially if you’re a regular shopper at the store.

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