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This is a question that sounds simple but has quite a complicated answer that raises a whole host of questions. Who is responsible for maintaining the records? How long do they need to be retained? Who owns the records? And, perhaps most importantly, who has access to them? Illinois law draws an important distinction between […]

Environmental issues regarding real estate may seem commonplace these days, but the implications have real-world consequences for the uninformed.Imagine you’ve bought your first piece of income-producing property. After several months, you discover the prior owner dumped contaminants out the back door, and now the Environmental Protection Agency wants you to clean up the property. It […]

As AI becomes more prevalent in our lives, it’s important to stay educated on how our legal system is addressing novel topics related to its increasing use. Many of the issues discussed in this article are not even on the radars of business owners – but they should be. One of the more interesting recent […]

One would think that when purchasing a business through an asset sale, a seller’s legacy liabilities stay with the seller and don’t attach to the buyer. In most instances that’s true. The purchaser of a business asset is not going to be on the hook for existing liabilities connected to the assets. But there are […]

We’ve written before about issues potential board members should consider before joining the board of a nonprofit, but we’ve never really looked at some of the broader legal issues that are unique to nonprofits. As the nonprofit sector continues to play an ever-increasing role in communities across Illinois (think of recent developments with our own […]

Transferring ownership of a home is one of the most significant legal transactions the majority of people will ever undertake. In Illinois, real estate transfers are governed by a combination of state statutes, common law principles and local recording practices. Whether you are selling your home, gifting property to a family member, placing property into […]

It’s that time of year again when we explore what our legislature has been up to this past year. In a case of the state actually trying to be helpful, cocktails to go (first introduced during COVID-19 restrictions) are now permanent, which should be a boon to the restaurant industry. The state created a new […]

The recent passage of a moratorium on tiny houses in Ward 2 comes with some conditions, namely, that the city engage in a review of zoning and housing policies, hold at least two community engagement sessions, assess economic, environmental and social impacts of tiny homes in Ward 2, and make recommendations to the city council […]

The principle of free speech is a cornerstone of American democracy, enshrined in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It guarantees that “Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech,” basically protecting an individual’s right to express ideas, opinions and beliefs without government interference. Yet, when it comes to the workplace, […]

Have you attended an estate planning seminar or read promotional materials that claim you must have a living trust to avoid probate? Has a salesperson come to your home with frightening information about probate? What is probate, and how can it be avoided?Probate is the administration of a person’s estate though the courts. Probate can […]