Cook County Record

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OUR GOAL at The Cook County Record is to cover Cook County’s legal system in a way that enables you, our readers, to make the public business your business. Cook County’s courts are anything but average. A welcome mat to mass torts, asbestos litigation and lottery-like awards have helped create a “judicial hellhole” reputation. At The Record we hope to provide an objective view of the playing field as well as an active forum for both sides of the argument so that all of us can decide for ourselves. To that end, we need your help. If you have an opinion, please let us hear it. Don’t hesitate to send us your story ideas, press releases, letters-to-the-editor, or guest columns. We will publish them. We shall make every effort to be fair and impartial. We shall also do our best to exclude any personal or political bias we have on our news pages. The Record is owned by the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform. Source

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Lawyers’ ‘misleading statements’ hang cloud over college finaid class action

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By Scott Holland
| Cook County Record
Dirksen Federal Courthouse, Chicago CHICAGO — A federal judge won’t stop a class action alleging some of the country’s top higher education institutions colluded when awarding financial aid — but said they’ll have to replace their chosen class counsel because the original firm has been accused of its own misconduct, including unethical billing practices.
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Jewish students can’t sue Northwestern over antisemitic protest response

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By Scott Holland
| Cook County Record
Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois CHICAGO — Jewish students can't sue Northwestern University for failing to throttle protests and campus-takeover "encampments" supporting Palestinian liberation, which the plaintiffs said turned the Northwestern campus into an openly antisemitic "dystopic cesspool of hate." The firm of Much Shelist PC, of Chicago, had originally filed the suit in May 2024 in Cook County Circuit Court on behalf of three unnamed Jewish students, identified only as...
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Class action OK’d vs Salvation Army over thrift store rehab workers

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By Scott Holland
| Cook County Record
Salvation Army CHICAGO — A federal judge is advancing a class action accusing the Salvation Army of violating wage laws by not compensating rehabilitation program participants for their work in the charity’s thrift stores. Five men who used to be enrolled in Salvation Army adult rehab centers claim they had to work 40 hours each week as part of their treatment but said they earned no pay for their time.
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IL wage law doesn’t stop lawsuits over off-shift work

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By Scott Holland
| Cook County Record
Amazon fulfillment center SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois Supreme Court has ruled the state’s wage law doesn’t protect employers from lawsuits accusing companies of not paying workers for duties completed before or after assigned shifts. The issue came to the state’s top court as a question from the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
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Ex-Fenwick teacher can’t sue for report of ‘rumors’ that cost him new job

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By Scott Holland
| Cook County Record
Fenwick High School, Oak Park, Illinois CHICAGO — A federal judge said a former Fenwick teacher can’t continue his lawsuit alleging the suburban Catholic school sabotaged his career by telling his new employer he was named in unsubstantiated sexual conduct rumors. Richard Schlesinger, whom court documents identify as openly gay, said a Fenwick supervisor made disparaging comments about his sexual orientation, but neither administrators nor human resources addressed his complaints.
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Allstate can’t delete class action over alleged secret app tracking

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By Scott Holland
| Cook County Record
Allstate Insurance office CHICAGO — A federal judge won’t fully end a class action accusing Allstate of using modern technology to surreptitiously track clients and use that information to allegedly adjust their insurance rates.
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Eggland can’t crack class action over ‘cage free’ eggs label

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By Scott Holland
| Cook County Record
Eggland’s Best CHICAGO — A federal judge won’t crack down on a class action accusing Eggland’s Best of misusing the term “cage free” on product materials. In an opinion filed Feb. 27, U.S. District Judge Franklin Valderrama refused to dismiss a consumer protection lawsuit from Tim Janecyk, who alleged that, although Eggland packing promotes eggs from hens “free to roam in a pleasant, natural environment,” the reality is the chickens have no outdoor access and live in windowless compounds.
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Mercedes can’t be sued for not updating 3G in-car wireless systems

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By Scott Holland
| Cook County Record
Mercedes-Benz Werk Kecskemét Mercedes Benz plant Kecskemét CHICAGO — A federal appeals panel has agreed car owners can’t sue Mercedes-Benz for failing to upgrade vehicles sold with outdated or quickly antiquated wireless communication technology. Jim Rose and Anita Gian sued the automaker in Chicago. In the lawsuits, they say they bought cars equipped with Mbrace, a subscription-based system that worked on 3G wireless data networks.
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Walgreens can’t trash suit over ‘dishwasher safe’ plastic cutlery

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By Scott Holland
| Cook County Record
A pedestrian crosses an intersection in Chicago. CHICAGO — A federal judge refused to fully dispose of a lawsuit from Walgreens customers who said the company failed to warn them disposable plastic cutlery might melt in dishwashers.
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Class action over Chicago distracted driving tickets wins new chance

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By Scott Holland
| Cook County Record
Chicago City Hall CHICAGO — A state appeals panel has revived a class action accusing the city of Chicago of illegally issuing citations for distracted driving, saying a Cook County judge wrongly cut the case short, asserting "seven years" of litigation was enough, despite the case's complex legal and constitutional questions. In August 2017, shortly after reaching a $39 million settlement to end a class action over red-light camera tickets, Myron Cherry & Associates attorneys Myron M.
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Cook County Record Journalists

Bilyk, Jonathan
Churney, Dan