An attorney has joined a previously suspended divorce attorney’s motion for sanctions against her former client and his attorney, former Madison County judge Thomas Hildebrand, for allegedly filing a frivolous legal malpractice suit that they knew was time bared.

On April 26, attorney Michael Reid joined the motion for sanctions filed by O’Fallon attorney Amanda Kelton Bradley Verett.

On April 7, defense attorney Roy Dripps of Armbruster Dripps Winterscheidt & Blotevogel LLC in Maryville requested an order sanctioning Hildebrand of Granite City and plaintiff Christopher Nolan. The request was filed on behalf of Verett.

Dripps argues that Hildebrand knew Nolan’s complaint was frivolous and filed it to extort money.

“The Court should sanction both plaintiff and plaintiff’s counsel for filing a frivolous suit not grounded in the law because the statute of limitations expired on this case nearly a decade ago,” the motion states.

Dripps also represented Reid before Nolan filed a motion to disqualify, arguing that Reid and Verett have “antagonistic defenses” and could not share counsel.

Reid is now represented in the case by Lawrence R. Smith and Lee J. Karge of Brinker & Doyen LLP in Clayton, Mo.

Verett was suspended for 90 days in 2008 for her handling of a family matter between Nolan and his ex-wife.

In his complaint, Nolan alleges Verett deviated from the standard of care of a reasonable attorney by filing and obtaining ex parte relief against his ex-wife, Tanna Nolan, and a Missouri hospital despite knowing she was not entitled to do so.

Reid also collected attorney’s fees for allegedly engaging in strategy conferences with Verett.

In Nolan’s malpractice suit, he claims he was required to pay $25,000 in Tanna Nolan’s attorney’s fees as a result of Verett’s alleged breach of contract and another $25,000 in fees in defending the assessment of attorney’s fees.

He also alleges Verett charged him $18,569.03 for services, which provided no benefit and put him in a worse position.

Madison County Circuit Court case number 17-L-27

A woman accused of sexual assault denies the allegations in a suit alleging a young girl was sexually and physically abused with a tampon at Word of Life Tabernacle.

Olivia Valentine Crippen Foster answered the complaint on April 11 through attorney David C. Berwin of Evans & Dixon LLC in St. Louis.

She denied the allegations against her and argued in her affirmative defenses that the complaint fails to state a claim.

She also argues that the case should be barred by the statute of limitations and the doctrines of estoppel and laches. She did not provide any additional details in her two affirmative defenses.

Mary Doe, individually and as mother and next friend of Jane Doe, filed the suit on Jan. 28, 2016, against Word of Life Tabernacle, Henry Crippen, individually and as president of Word of Life Tabernacle, Lisa Cochran, individually and as principal of Word of Life Tabernacle, and Foster.

Mary Doe claims Jane Doe was attending the defendants’ after-school center on April 7, 2010, when she was three years old. She alleges Foster forced a tampon applicator into the child’s rectum and a tampon into the child’s vaginal area.

Cochran, Crippen and Word of Life Tabernacle filed separate answers to the complaint on March 18 through attorneys Steven Hughes and Joseph Hoffman of Hughes Harris Law LLC in St. Louis.

They argue that their actions were reasonable at all times under the circumstances and that any alleged harm was caused by individuals over which they had no control.

Madison County Circuit Judge William Mudge scheduled a case management conference for July 26 at 9 a.m.

Doe is represented by Michael R. Wesley of the Law Office of Michael R. Wesley LLC in Wood River.

Madison County Circuit Court case number 16-L-123

Madison County Circuit Judge Barbara Crowder filed a protective order in a suit against the City of Madison and a police officer involving a fatal collision while an alleged car thief ran from the police.

On March 9, Crowder filed the protective order, which applies to all confidential material produced or adduced in the course of discovery, including initial disclosures, responses to discovery requests, deposition testimony and exhibits.

Sheila Brawley, mother and next friend of Rhykeem Samuels, a minor, filed the lawsuit against the City of Madison and officer J.D. Harris on Nov. 11.

She claims Harris saw a 2011 Honda Odyssey minivan speeding on Oct. 14, 2015, and allegedly began to pursue the vehicle. She alleges the pursuit ended when Kyrus Sykes, the driver of the alleged stolen vehicle, crossed the median of state Route 203, resulting in a head-on collision with a third vehicle. 

There were three juvenile boys in the vehicle at the time of the crash. 

Passenger Marcus Gordon and driver Kyrus Sykes died as a result of the accident.

The minivan the boys were in was reported stolen in Fairview Heights.

Brawley alleges the defendants should have known their actions would result in severe injury. As a result, Samuels was allegedly seriously and permanently injured.

The defendants, however, argued that Samuels was actively involved in the theft of the vehicle. They also allege Samuels knew Sykes would drive in an unreasonably dangerous manner.

The City of Madison filed a third-party complaint against Semekia Ellis, as special administrator for Sykes, in November.

On April 26, Crowder scheduled a status conference for June 28 at 9 a.m.

The defendants are represented by Gerard Cook and Michael Victor of O’Halloran Kosoff Geitner and Cook LLC in Northbrook, Ill.

Samuels is represented by Bruce Mattea of The Mattea Law Firm in Collinsville.

Madison County Circuit Court case number 15-L-1505

APRIL 19, 2017

ALTON

$56,000- 1930 NORTH RODGERS AVENUE - DEBORAH GIBBONS TO ERICA JONES
$83,000- 2300 MORNING STAR DRIVE - RYAN AND ALECIA BENNETT TO BRIAN AND BRIANNA GILSON
$164,900- 1522 HENERY STREET - CHARLES AND HILARY WILCOXEN TO JEFFERY AND BREANNA WYMAN
$34,900- 2511 DONALD AVENUE - 1 WILMINGTON SAVINGS FUND TO ASHLE LOBOS
$529,600- 3212 BROWN STREET, 1600,1634,1410,1640 SEMINARY STREET, 1407 AND 1403 DOERR AVENUE, 3418 CALIFORNIA AVENUE,  3028 MAYFEILD AVENUE,3421 MERIDOCIA STREET, 1241 FAIRWAY DRIVE, 951 HILLCREST AVENUE,2210 SALU STREET, 1618 SHURTLEFF - CNB BANK & TRUST TO RUSTY DOOR PROPERTIES
$68,000- 527 E. 10TH ST. - KERRY MILLER TO NANCY SPRINGMAN
$19,000- 2720 WALNUT - FANNIE MAE TO JIREH INVESTMENTS
$5,000- 329 W. 12TH ST. - QUEEN SMITH TO VICTORIA AND WILLIAM MAHER
$160,000- SEILER RD. - CYNTHIA INMAN AND DANA HORN TO STEVEN AND SUZANNE POHLMAN

BETHALTO

$62,000- 220 N. ELM STREET - DANIEL WALKENHORST TO EARL AND REBECCA GREEN
$99,000- 337 SANDERS ST. - KERRI FORSYTHE TO LARRY AND SHELLEY MONTGOMERY
$60,000- 3934 AND 3948 ALLIANCE DRIVE - CHARLS AND BARBARA PELAN TO KENT AND RENE ROBINETTE

EAST ALTON

$82,000- 220 GRAND AVENUE - CHRISTOPHER AND JULIE BAILEY TO JOSHUA HICKS

EDWARDSVILLE

$70,000- 5636 HAMEL DRIVE - BETTY HEAD, PATRICIA MIDDLETON AND CAROL WEBER TO PATRICA MIDDLETON

GODFREY

$169,000- 6802 BEALL CT. - MARK DORSEY TO LY TRAN AND TOM LUU
$110,000- 3605 VALLEY DRIVE - LORA AND JASON KLAAS TO ZACHARY HENSLEY

GRANITE CITY

$52,000- 3300 AND 3302 WILSHIRE DRIVE - DAVID AND JUDITH EAKER TO MOONBABY PROPERTIES
$124,000- 124 BIG 4 PL. - JOSHUA DICKERSON TO STACY HIGGINS
$36,000- 2434 EAST 24TH ST. - EUGENE MILLER FAMILY TRUST TO DAVID MILLER
$90,000- 4703 VINCENT STREET - BRENDASANDER, KATHLEEN RITCHIE, DANIEL LONG AND DINA BURCH TO JOHN RITCHIE
$160,000- 4915 MARYVILLE ROAD - ROBERT DITTMAN TO CLOTHIER ENTERPRISES
$6,100,000- 20 CENTRAL INDUSTRIAL DR. - GATEWAY CENTRAL INDUSTRIAL TO JAMES HAUB
$70,000- 2329 DELTA AVENUE - DAVID AND ANN BREWER TO JOSEPH BREWER

LIVINGSTON

$80,000- 766 WALL STREET - ENGELKE BROTHERS TO SJD REAL ESTATE

MADISON

$63,600- 940 ALTON AVE. - ADAM AND SARAH RYTERSKI TO VINCENT MASON

MARYVILLE

$159,500- 6811 HAMPSHIRE COURT - KATE SOLLBERGER TO MELISSA RAY

NEW DOUGLAS

$116,000- 208 N. 6TH STREET - DANIEL DURBOROW TO TAMMY HOPKINS

ST. JACOB

$58,200- 9005 INDIAN CREEK - WCE TO EDWARD AND STEPHANIE WEILER

TROY

$11,000- PART OF 1461 BAUER RD. - JAMES AND CATHY LEATHERS TO REMINGTON PROPERTIES
$11,000- PART OF 1461 BAUER RD. - JAMES AND CATHY LEATHERS TO OAK STONE PROPERTIES
$349,900- 8832 WHEAT DR. - REMINGTON PROPERTIES TO MATTHEW AND MANDY KITZMILLER
$13,000- PART OF 1461 BAUER RD. - JAMES AND CATHY LEATHERS TO JOSHUA AND LYNELLE JOLLIFF
$208,000- 49 ASHBROOKE - MATTHEW AND MANDY KILTZMILLER TO DAMON SLEEPER
$625,580- 462TYLER DRIVE - SPENCER HOMES TO NINA MILLER AND DAVID WILLIS

WOOD RIVER

$40,000- 87 FERGUSON AVENUE - SHERYL ROSEN TO SATTILLA
$95,000- 149 S. 7TH ST. - JESSE AND ALYSSA DANIELS TO CASSIDY AND BLAKE STANTON AND LISA RAYMOND
$143,000- 420 N.6TH ST. - LINDA LOCKLEAR TO JESSE AND ALYSSA DANIELS
$71,999- 817 HALLORAN AVE. - TIMOTHY , MELANIE AND TAYLOR ELAM TO CRAIG KNOBLAUCH AND ANN YURKANIN

WORDEN

$3,500- 1879 SEXTANT DRIVEE - MIKE AND CAROL BABCOCK TO JEFFERY SEDLACEK

APRIL 20, 2017

ALTON

$47,534- 313 DRY ST. - ERIC AND TAMMY STAUFFER TO FEDERAL HOME LOAN MORTGAGE CORPORATION
$12,000- 1212 BROWN ST. - THE SECRETARY OF HOUSING & URBAN DEVELOPMENT TO ROBERT MOSBY
$61,000- 3426 CALIFORNIA AVE. - L&L SALES AND LEASING TO LAUREN ROGALSKY
$153,000- 1515 JERSEY ST. - ANDREW AND KELLY STAFFORD TO MACKLAND AND KATHERINE MCANINCH
$20,000- PEBBLE CREEK DRIVE - CHICAGO LAND TRUST TO DAVID AND SUSAN POTTER

COLLINSVILLE

$65,000- 1246 VANDALIA ST. - CASEY MCTAGGART TO JACK WALKER
$32,000- 606 EAST CAY STREET - CASTLE 2016 TO 6200 NAGEL

COTTAGEHILLS

$60,000- 1453 13TH ST. - LORA MCMILLIAN TO SAMANTHA DROEGE

EAST ALTON

$92,000- 700 WILLOWAY AVE. - RUTH VOLZ TO CHRISTOPHER FRIEDEL

EDWARDSVILLE

$337,500- 10 FOREST HILL LANE - WEN AND FONG CHEN TO MICHAEL AND MICHELLE SWANSON

GLEN CARBON

$333,000- 34 ROSE CT. - MATTHEW AND LARA JOHNSON TO BRIAN AND BRENDA CHINN
$163,500- 19 TRILRIDGE LANE - RYAN DONOHUE TO KEMBERLY GARVER
$365,500- 416 WESTCHESTER - WESLEY EDER TO TOM AND SADE GUARINO

GODFREY

$90,000- 1916WEST DELMAR AVE., UNIT A - PATRICIA JUDY TO CECIL EDWARDS

HAMEL

$16,500- 230 MAYER AVE. - JACOB CALDWELL TO LINDA WHITEHEAD

MARYVILLE

$252,000- 2509 GECKO DR. - ALDEMARO ROMERO TO CHRISTOPHER AND JOYCE VOTAVA

TROY

$182,000- 28 MEADOWBROOKE DRIVE - KATHRYN CRUZ TO CHRISTOPHER VANDEVER

WOOD RIVER

$40,000- 570 PARK LANE - THADEENA THOMPSON TO MELISSA EWING
$116,000- 35 ORCHARD HILL DR. - BRIAN AND AMANDA SCHOENECK TO LINDA SNYDER

APRIL 21, 2017

ALTON

$24,000- 210 ALLEM ST. - DANIEL AND KAREN KRANEL TO JOSEPH COBB
$28,900- 1804 MYRTLE - MARGERET SCHWEGEL TO JOHN AND BONNIEMUNDY
$15,000- 2718 PALMER - SHERMAN RETZER TO RICHARD LEH

BETHALTO

$75,000- 105BRISTOL COURT - ESTATE OF SHARON TURNER TO BENJAMIN TREAT
$160,000- #9 WILLOW RUN COURT - PATRICK AND ELAINE BRYAN TO NATIONAL RESIDENTIAL NOMINEE SERVICES
$160,000- #9 WILLOW RUN COURT - NATIONAL RESIDENTIAL NOMINEE SERVICES TO JEREMY AND KATELIN WATTERS

COLLINSVILLE

$58,000- 8004 ST.CLAIR AVE. - ROBERT RIEDEL TO ROBERT HARTZELL
$79,000- 120 W. WASHINGTON ST. - COBALT BLUE PROPERTIES TO BRIANA AVILA KENNETH MANDEZ
$212,500- 14 PINE VALLY DR. - GREGORY AND DENISE LOWELL TO RODGER AND JESSICA DARDEN
$10,000- 330 E. PARK AVE. - LEONA ROBERTSON TO DERRICK COX
$100,000- 944 LONGHI ROAD - DANIEL RENFRO TO HONI PROPERTIES

EDWARDSVILLE

$200,000- POAG ROAD - FIRST NATIONAL BANK IN STAUNTON TO GALAS PROPERTY MANAGEMENT
$145,000- 70 NORTH KANSAS ST. - JOE AND KATHY MCGOWAN TO STEVEN AND NANCY RABEN
$158,000- 1433 GRAND AVE. - MELISSA RAY TO ANDREW AND MELISSA

GODFREY

$14,000- 1802 WINTER LANE - JEROME JACOBS TO MELODY MANS
$91,500- 5025 STRATEN DR. - THOMAS FAMILY IRREVOCABLE TRUST TO MELISSA BURGUND

GRANITE CITY

$52,750- 2011 RICHMOND AVE. - AMY AND JACOB LEMASTER TO KELBI MERCHANT
$55,000- 2932 DOGWOOD DR. - VIRGIL AND BRENDA PHILLIPS AND DONNA RIDGEW TO MARY TAYLOR
$344,750- WINDSOR AVE - I-255 TO CBH PROPERTIES

HARTFORD

$87,900- 109 W. 2ND ST. - DEREK ROSE TO LARRY AND THERESA

HIGHLAND

$28,001- 420 LAYREL ST. - THE JUDICIAL SALES TO JAMES BOEKHOUT

WOOD RIVER

$95,000- 704 E. FERGUSON - DONNA PHILLIPS TO DANE FREEMAN
$110,000- 176 RED BUD DR. - EVELYN HOWLAND AND LUANNE MOODY TO DONNA PHILLIPS

WORDEN

$107,000- 414 FILLMORE - HEIRS OF RICHARD MILLER TO ALEXANDER SLOAN

APRIL 24, 2017

ALHAMBRA

$10,000- STATE ROUTE 140 - ALHAMBRA COMMUNITY CLUB TO SCOTT MYERS

ALTON

$120,000- 2911 UTAH PL. - DAVID AND DIANE MILES TO BETTY WILLIAMS
$115,000- 2132 WYCKOFF ST. - SALLY NOLTE TO JAMES AND IRENE EGNER
$123,500- 6413 ALPHA DR. - ROBERT NEUDECKER TO DEVIN SMITH

BETHALTO

$264,900- 101 WOODLANE DR. - RICHARD AND THERESA BOHNENSTIEHL TO ARRON AND REAGAN FIORINO

COLLINSVILLE

$90,000- 1508 W. MAIN ST. - CHARLES VOTAVA TO RACHEL CAMPBELL
$25,000- 1925 BELT LINE RD. - G.A.S.A. TO VICTORY BIBLE BAPTIST CHURCH
$164,375- 102 MESA DRIVE - LINDA RAYHO TO WESLEY AND AIRIEL WOODELL

EAST ALTON

$124,900- 133 RENO AVE. - TAMARA WALLS TO LEO PRIDE
$143,000- 718 AIRWOOD DR. - CHRISTOPHER HINES AND CINDY SCHLEMER TO SHANE WALL

EDWARDSVILLE

$15,000- 336 GREMER - SUNFLOWER SECURITIES TO RANAE HARRIS
$44,000- 6727 W. LIBERTY PRAIRIE LANE - WILLIAM AND CHELSEY PIERSON TO CHRISTOPHER AND KAREN CHALLANDES
$200,000- 1026 ST. LOUIS ST. - ALICE ADCOCK TO ROBERT AND EFFIE HICKS
$227,500- 20 TIMBER MEADOWS PLACE - GEORGE AND VANESSA SHRIVER TO RORY AND RITA SCHNEIDER
$293,000- 1906 BUTLER - KENNETH AND MICHELLE NOLL TO TADD SIMMONS

GODFREY

$80,000- ROACH RD. - SAGE CREEK DEVELOPMENT TO CHRISTOPHER AND JACLYN DENNISON
$120,000- 6404 GODFREY RD. - STEPHEN AND SHARON HARRISON TO TERRY FORD
$7,500- GODFREY RD. - JAMES SIEVERS TO UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD COMPANY
$68,000- 208 REDWOOD DR. - FREDERICK STAM AND KATHY KIRK TO THE BAILEY LIVING TRUST
$114,500- 1321 NORMANDY DR. - JAMES AND DOROTHY BAILEY TO DORIS PARKS
$123,000- 1327 NORMANDY DR. - JEAN LYNN TO ARTHUR AND JO GREENWOOD

GRANITE CITY

$62,000- 2309 CARDINAL AVE. - CHRISTOPHER MOULDOM TO KAYLIN JAMES
$35,000- 1088 WANDA DR. - KATHLEEN SARGENT TO CHRISTOPHER MOULDON
$59,500- 21 TULIP AVE. - KEVIN KINGSLEY TO DAVID AND BARBARA BORAGE
$23,000- 2412 GRAND AVE. - HOME INVESTORS TO KITTRRAU ICE
$207,500- 537 NEWHART DR. - ROBERT STEEN TO TIM AND KATHY MORAN
$83,000- 2104 DAWN PL. - PETER NOVACICH TO MERDITH BONNER
$86,000- 1613 VENICE AVE. - APRIL AND ROBERT DUDLEY TO VICKI BOUBACAR
$280,000- 3371 FEHLING RD. - MARK UNNERSTALL TO FARMLAND AUTO GLASS
$95,000- 2205 DELMAR AVE - JOHN AND JANE CALAWAYS TO JOSHUA HEITZMAN
$67,000- 2401 HODGES AVE. - PHIL HOLAWAY TO TASHA SMILEY
$10,000- 1628 OLIVE ST. - CECIO TOMLIN TO LUIS BARRIENTOS

HARTFORD

$13,500- 107 E. MAPLE - LOIS JONES TO GRAG NEWELL

HIGHLAND

$470,000- BELM ROAD - REJ HOLDINGS TO GRANDVIEW FARM LIMITED PARTNERSHIP
$1,245,500- 2071 OLD TRENTON ROAD - ERIC JAKLE TO GRANDVIEW FARM LIMITED PARTNERSHIP
$124,000- 100 SUNFLOWER DR. - DEBORAH KEEVEN AND DIANE ZOBRIST TO DEAN KORTE
$48,000- 13218 FAWN CREEK RD. - MERLE AND SHIRLEY WERNLE TO GARY AND KAREN RANGE
$1,339,500- STATE ROUTE 160 - JMC TO GRANDVIEW FARM LIMITED PARTNERSHIP

MARYVILLE

$108,000- 109 S. LANGE - HASKELL COOPER AND KATHLEEN MCCAMMACK TO ASHTIN DIEKEMPER

SOUTH ROXANA

$15,280- 104 MICHIGAN AVE. - SECRETARY OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT TO TIFFANY CRANK

TROY

$72,000- 8940 INDIAN CREEK - WCE TO DON GALLIA AND TARA STEPZINSKI
$115,825- 916 CARLA DRIVE - SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS TO NATHAN BATERMANN

WOOD RIVER

$58,000- 1164 E. LORENA AVE. - ANGLIA BAILEY TO ANDREW AND KATHYRN DAVENPORT
$62,500- 648 N. WOODRIVER AVE. - GREGORY BECKHAM TO KERRY AND LISA SCOGGINS
$103,000- 751 BERRY RD. - ANNE-MARIE BUEHLMAN TO WILLIAM AND NICOLE BALCOM

WORDEN

$87,500- 112 HENERY ST. - DEREK AND JENNIFER BAUGH TO REGINA CASTILLO

APRIL 25, 2017

COTTAGE HILLS

$100,000- 114 OLD BETHALTO RD. - WANDA TALKINGTON TO TRAVIS JUMPER
$500- 1026 EAST DR. - DARRELL BELCHER TO DALE AND LINDA WALKER

DORSEY

$56,000- 7258 RENKEN RD. - KEVIN PATTERSON TO MICHAEL HEINEMEIR

EAST ALTON

$73,900- 239 LINCOLN AVE. - DANE FREEMAN TO MEGAN O'DANIELL
$78,300- 117 S. CENTER ST. - JANET WILLIAMS TO MICHAEL HOWARD
$25,000- 402 WASHINGTON AVE. - MARJARIE CANN TO STEVEN AND CARLA SITZE
$64,825- 170 NORWOOD PLACE - THE JUDICIAL SALES TO MAURICE MALONE

EDWARDSVILLE

$80,000- 7 LOGAN PL. - DEFINITIVE HOME AND DESIGN TO ALMAZING GRACE AT LOGAN PLACE
$160,000- 7011 STONEY CREEK DR. - JEFFERY AND LAZONDRA GRIGGS TO LISA NGUYEN

GLEN CARBON

$245,365- 7059 RICHMOND DR. - INNOVATION CONSTRUCTION SERVICES TO CHERYL PORTELL
$140,500- 207 GLENLAKE DR. - ERIBERTO AND ANA GUZMAN TO WILLIAM AND MICHAEL KOLLING
$105,000- 535 TRAILS END - DENNIS AND EUNICE FREDRICKSON TO NEXT GENERATION TS FOB
$287,000- 18 OAKDALE LAKE CIRCLE - RASHAAD ROBIINSON TO TONY AND LARISSA JONES

GODFREY

$212,000- 8400 LAGEMAN RD. - NINA GROSS TO EDWARD KOZICKY
$187,000- 5211 FOXGLOVE LN. - RAY THOMPSON TO DAVID AND DIANE MILES

GRANITE CITY

$1,000- 1842 POPLAR ST. - SAMI BASSETT TO RICHARD AND BRENDA GIBSON

HIGHLAND

$279,039- 95 AUGUSTA DR. - REMINGTON PROPERTIES TO JOHN AND NOEL TAYLOR
$146,000- 85 MEMORIAL COURT - JEAN HOLZINGER TO SAMANTHA OSBORNE
$193,000- 4147 STATE ROUTE 160 - CORA SAATHOFF TO DOUGLAS AND DIANE BATTOE
$100,000- 14176 IBERG  RD - GCS CREDIT UNION TO HOUSE TURNERS
$170,000- 15 WOODLAND COURT - NATHAN VILAR TO MICHAEL HUFFINES

MORO

$278,000- 6445 BLACK RAIL DR. - ARRON AND REGAN FIORINO TO JOSHUA ELAM AND RANADA RIDENHOUR

TROY

$163,000- 206 POWELL ST. - LUKE AND CORRINE KREAMALMEYER TO SARAH JORDAN

WOOD RIVER

$23,500- 900 E. FERGUSON AVE. - LARRY AND SHIRLEY DUCKWORTH TO DAWN LEE
$136,000- 975 CEDAR DR. - PATRICK BROWN TO MELISSA GUST

APRIL 26, 2017

ALTON

$8,950- 1817 ERVAY AVE. - SI SECURITIES TO OTIS AND MONICA REDDIT
$112,500- 2206 NORSIDE DR. - JOSEPH AND CORBY TO SARAH ROSE
$90,000- 1004 MAIN ST. UNIT B - ESTATE OF MARY BAZZELL TO DELORES MCFARLAND
$5,100- 1000 MARKET ST. - SOUTHWESTERN ILLINOIS PROPERTIES TO JOHNATHAN AND WHITNEY STEEN

COLLINSVILLE

$40,000- 1702 B. RAMADA BOULEVARD. - DONALD AND STACEY OBRIEN TO MITCHELL AND JANICE BAIR
$57,500- 801 E. CLAY ST. - FIRST COLLINSVILLE BANK TO SARAH , DOUG AND JUDY WEISS AND JOSHUA RODGERS

EAST ALTON

$11,900- 183 W. AIRLINE DR. - DENISE REYNOLDS TO COREY AND KELSEY NITKA

GRANITE CITY

$21,000- 2208 IOWA ST. - U.S. BANK NATIONAL TO S.A MCNEILL TRUSTEE
$82,500- 5132 OLD ALTON RD. - PHILIP HILMES TO MICHAEL NELSON
$30,137- 2000 LINDELL BLVD. - SECRETARY OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT TO CALEB DAVIS
$6,500- 2829 WASHINGTON AVE. - SECRETARY OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT TO SAMUEL TAMAYO-ONTIVEROS
$98,500- 3264 EDGEWOOD AVE. - GCS CREDIT UNION TO DEANISHA RICHARDSON
$79,000- 2021 CLARK AVE. - KELLY GARDENER AND JOHN GREEN TO JIMMY ROSEMARY AND JIMMY STAPLES

APRIL 27, 2017

BETHALTO

$236,900- 3823 MCCOY RD. - CHAD AND ALISON REID TO CHRISTIAN MAYBERRY
$165,000- 71 BROOKS DR. - BRADLY MCCUNE TO EDWARD AND JANET GRAVEMAN

COLLINSVILLE

$200,500- 22 SOMERSET PLACE - LAWRENCE AND KARIN FLORA TO REBECCA AND JAMES EHLER
$139,000- 924 ALCO DRIVE - BRYAN SLOAN TO ANDREW GRIFFING

EDWARDSVILLE

$475,000- 1116 E.FRANKLIN AVE. - MICHAEL AND KETRA CROSS TO ROBERT AND MICHELLE MOORE

GODFREY

$41,040- 5816 DEER TRL. - SELENE FINANCE TO MLIPO2
$134,000- 108 SATURN DR. - LANCE KERKEMEYER TO CHARLES MORMAN

GRANITE CITY

$23,100- 10 FONTIANEBLEAU DR - BANK OF AMERICA TO DAVID SCHMIDT
$13,000- 2308 BENTON ST. - SECRETARY OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT TO TONGYAN PENG

ROXANA

$71,000- 511 N. MAPLE ST. - REBECCA MANSHOLT TO ALICE ROTH

TROY

$89,900- 308 STAUNTON RD. - LAUREN AND KEVIN SWITALA TO KELLY IVIE
$292,000- 225 HARBOR MILL DR. - RICK AND ROSALIE MCDANNEL TO JOSEPH JOHNS
$145,000- 18 LAKE DR. - JOHN AND ANA PAULUS TO BRADLY AND SLOAN KESSINGER

WOOD RIVER

$124,000- 690 E. PENNING AVE. - CHRISTOPHER JOHNSON TO SARAH EDWARDS

APRIL 28, 2017

ALHAMBRA

$118,000- 905 W. N. ST. - NICHOLAS AND CHRISTIANE ZELLER TO BRIAN GOODIEL

ALTON

$75,000- 400 PROSPECT ST. - JOHN PUENT TO JOHN SIMMONS
$110,000- 1422 SALER RD. - 6LEW TO JACOB AND SYLVIA MARTIN
$63,000- 107 E. ELM ST. - MATTHEW ASSELMEIER TO ELIZABETH BUCK

BETHALTO

$210,000- 6348 LANTERMAN DR. - EARL AND LINDA LOVEJOY TO MICHAEL AND DEBORAH COPE

COLLINSVILLE

$274,500- 42 DEER TRAIL DR. - ADAM PETROFF TO DUSTIN SCHILDKNECHT
$158,500- 409 SU ANDRA DR. - BENJAMIN AND HAYLEY BULTMANN TO JASON COLLINS
$151,500- 1020 VERMONT AVE - ANGELA NUXOLL TO ANITA RENDER

COTTAGE HILLS

$21,500- 39 S. WILLIAMS ST. - REGINA MILLER TO KENNWTH, MAX AND TOMMI RAGAN

EAST ALTON

$92,500- 306 CALIFORNIA AVE. - REBECCA FLEAK TO CHRISTOPHER DAVIS

EDWARDSVILLE

$96,500- 33 DORSET COURT - ZHI LIN AND JUAN LI TO PANTHER CREEK PROPERTIES
$124,000- 717 TAYLOR AVE. - NANCY JONES TO COURTNEY KUPINSKI
$40,342- 1423 N. MAIN ST. - INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES TO JCS ACQUISITIONS
$92,250- 175 E. HIGH ST. - GAGNON RENTAL PROPERTIES TO NICHOLAS MARTIN
$222,500- 119 BURNS FARM BLVD. - ELIZABETH SCHALLER TO KRISTI AND CLAYTON MCELROY
$472,000- 5331 HAZEL RD. - JESSE AND PAIGE SCOTT TO JAMES FLANIGAN
$287,000- 128 SUGAR OAK CT. - ZACHARY AND HANNAH ALLISON TO JOSHUA AND KRISTINE WOELFEL
$80,000- 1423 N. MAIN ST. - JCS ACQUISITIONS AND HOMEFRONT PROPERTIES TO RIVECO

GODFREY

$50,000- 1508 W. DELAMR AVE. - DECLARATION OF TRUST OF HARRY FESSLER TO BARTON PROPERTIES
$61,671- 4431 DELTA QUEEN LN. - SECRETARY OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT TO KAREN GAFFNEY

GRANITE CITY

$5,500- 2301 W. 23RD ST. - FEDERAL HOME LOAN MORTGAGE TO TIFFANY BOLLINGER
$47,238- 1224 LEE ST. - SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS TO NATASHA AND NATHAN KESSLER
$21,360- 2932 WASHINGTON AVE. - SECRETARY OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT TO MARTIN AND ROSA ALCAZAR

HIGHLAND

$367,000- 2758 WATER LILY LANE - MICHAEL AND BRANDI WILSON TO DAVID AND JACKIE PARENT

MARYVILLE

$151,500- 2615 N. CENTER - DAVID LINDSAY TO MICHAEL AND CHUN FOSSE
$227,900- 2300 PREWYCK CT. - JEFF HASENJAEGER TO ANDREW AND SARAH SIDWELL

S.ROXANA

$60,000- 406 PENNSYLVANIA AVE. - ARNOLD GRUBE TO RYAN FENSTERMAKER AND CASANDRA JONES

ST.JACOB

$248,000- 2005 KENSINGTON PLACE - MATTHEW AND MICHELLE MCVICAR TO JOSHPH HITCHOCK

TROY

$189,000- 607 WHIPPOORWILL ST. - JOHN AND SHARON MCGEE TO LOGAN AND MELISSA EADER
$138,000- 510 RIGGIN RD. - ROBERT AND DEBRA STONECIPHER TO MICHAEL PETROWICH AND ELIZABEHT CLAY
$185,000- 207ARROWHEAD DR. - BRITTANY AND JUSTIN LALAHAN TO KEVIN AND LAUREN SWITALA
$325,000- 526 COVENTRY RD. - IRENE VINING TO ROBERT AND CHRISTINA SCHNEIDER
$105,000- 702 GUINEVERE CT. - SHARON ROTH TO BLAKE DELONG AND MEGAN DOTY
$298,000- 437 BRIAR CREEK RD. - LINDOW CONTRACTING TO WALTER AND KATHLEEN NEFF
$350,000- 8854 STATE ROUTE 162 - PAL AND LISA GIACOLETTO TO MARK VANBIBBER

WOOD RIVER

$23,500- 349 GRAND AVE. - FRANK AND PEGEEN WISEMAN TO MARK AND DAWN CAZADD
$31,500- 846 HAWTHORNE AVE. - MICHAEL KARLAS TO OSCAR LANDRETH
$64,000- 1160 E. LORENA AVE. - SARAH VAMBAKETES TO DAVID AND LORI SCHLEEPER

WOODRIVER

$62,000- 466 LESLIE AVE. - DANNY AND SUSAN WALKER TO MARK AND JANICE MUCKENSTURM

WORDEN

$85,000- 121 MCKINLEY ST. - MARK ROBS AND DEANNA DAUDERMAN TO TIMOTHY ROBBS

APRIL 26, 2017

BELLEVILLE

$107,000- 216 SAN MATEO DR. - EDITH GUERREO TO CHOLE KING
$80,000- EILER ROAD - SOUTHSIDE DEVELOPMENT TO CARLAMD LAVON BOWLIN
$138,000- 2100 E. BELLE AVE. - MARK ABRIGHT TO MDEMARIO WASHINGTON
$93,900- 36 BLACKBURN DR. - ALLEN AND KAREN BUCHEIT TO KIMBERLY REID
$72,000- 724 UNION AVE. - BARBARA CLELAND TO LIUIS CERVANTES YONG
$22,000- 620 EAST GARFEILD ST. - ROLF JACOBSON TO ERIKA MOSES
$150,000- 8 WESTHAVEN MEADOWS DR. - ERIC COX TO KURT AND TINA OTTEN
$49,900- WEST C ST. - DENNY SELLERS III TO MARY RIOS

E. ST. LOUIS

$24,000- 728 N. 68TH ST. - KELVIN CHEARS TO ANDRE WILLIAMS
$24,900- 844 N. 80TH ST. - ARROW REALTY TO LORAE WADE

FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS

$214,000- 412 AMERICANA CIRCLE - BELFEILD AND GAIL COLLYMORE TO ROBERTA BUSH
$113,500- 201 COUNTRYSIDE LANE - ROBERT AND WENDY FUCHS TO JESSICA AND ANGELA COCHRAN

MASCOUTAH

$130,000- 1409 AUTUMN LAKES LN. - JP MORGAN CHASE BANK TO ALLAN AND COURTNEY WARD

OFALLON

$190,000- 928 JORDAN DR. - SUSAN HAMILTON TO NICHOLAS AND KAYLA WATTERMAN
$263,000- 901 RICHLAND PARK DR. - MCBRIDE STONE BRIDGE TO LAURIE AND EUGENE BAKER
$155,000- 1876 JAGGED ROCK RD. - ROSE SIELING AND JOHN WIELGUS TO RYAN ASSELIN
$259,900- 516 GLEN OAK DR. - ANNE BETTEN TO DAVID AND MORGAN KIDD
$386,000- 915 MOORFEILD PARK DR. - JASON AND JILL KING TO BRADLY AND AMANDA HETTENHAUSEN
$32,000- 600 WILLOWBROOK WAY - MILBURN ROAD TO PBBF

SHILOH

$263,000- 2254 MALLARD BEND COURT - JODEE FIELDS TO KATIE AND JERAMIE HARPER

SMITHTON

$35,000- 5522  ALPINE PLACE DR. - D&F CONTRACTING TO CHARLIE AND TERRI FOX

WATERLOO

$80,000- 3636LOWER SAXTOWN ROAD - JOHN BAILY TO 427 INC.

APRIL 27, 2017

BELLEVILLE

$41,000- 328 POLK ST. - HENSCHEN REVOCABLE LIVING TRUST TO DENNIS AHLERS
$79,900- 3054 KANSAS AVE. - THOMAS JACKSON TO PAMELA WEBSTER
$60,000- 12 SOUTHLAND COURT - SMALLWOOD FAMILY REVOCABLE TRUST TO THOMAS AND AMY SMALLWOOD
$855- 3022 MARTHA ST. - CARRINGTON MORTGAGE SREVICES TO KELLY PRUDEN

CAHOKIA

$17,500- 2409 ST. MARC DR. - ROYH AND PEGGY HONEYCUTT TO JAMES AND PATRICA CASWELL
$30,000- 7 LAZARCHEFF DR. - BRIAN DIXON TO SAINT LOUIS INVESTMENTS
$58,500- 4 DELANO DR. - CHRISTINE BRIGHTWELL TO GARY CLARK

FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS

$116,000- 22 LEXINGTON DR. - TODD LYLES TO EDWARD AND HEATHER HERNANDEZ

MASCOUTAH

$112,500- 403 IMPALA DR. - STEVE AND BRENDA REED TO JEROME AND NANCY GRAMM
$155,492- 9918 CESSNA COURT - JUDICAIL SALE CORP. TO SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
$63,000- 1024 W. POPLAR ST. - THE ESTATE OF EDNA BOWERS TO DAVID JORGENSON

MILLSTADT

$31,000- 3310 TERRACE VEIW COURT - AN ILLINOIS LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY TO CHAD AND STACY STEELE

OFALLON

$227,000- 7044 MILBURN ESTATES DR. - JOHN AND MALLORY MAZANEK TO JASON AND TERESA KAMPWERTH
$140,000- 1405 FREDRICK LAND AND PAUSCH ROAD - SHARON SWISHER TO JAMES AND MARY RYBAK
$345,000- 1778 CAPRICE COURT - JORGE AND BRENDA LEON TO DIANA AND BRANDON WISE
$129,000- 209 E. 4TH ST. - STEVEN YOUNG TO JACK AND KRISTIN ASBRIDGE

SWANSEA

$5,000- 1618 KINSELLA AVE. - WILLIAM AND CAROLYN RIDENOUR TO SHERMAN AND DAWN POCHEK

WATERLOO

$60,000- 417 OLD FLORAVILLE ROAD - SEAN AND KAYLA FITZGERALD TO CHRISTOPHER AND LISA NAUMANN

APRIL 28, 2017

BELLEVILLE

$145,000- 4936 SCHMIDT LANE - JOSEPH AND LINDA EASLEY TO LYNDSAY AND STEVEN WALLACE
$179,000- 9229 CONCORDIA ROAD - CARL AND STACEY BAUR TO TRISHA EISEL AND JASON SCHROEDER
$288,000- 903 BRIAR HILL ROAD - ANITA NORTAN TRUST TO HARRY NORTAN TRUST
$36,000- 5 TRANQUIL DR. - ANITA BOISMENUE TO SUSAN AND KAYLA BROUGH
$180,000- 15 NORTH MICHIGAN AVE. - SKY BLUE DEVELOPMENT TO GENEVIEVE NADEAU
$38,000- 117 BETHESDA DRIVE - WILLIAM MEANS TRUST TO BENJAMIN JAMES
$161,000- 104 FOX CREEK RD. - THOMAS YOUNG TO NORMAN WHITE AND ELIZABETH MURPHY
$30,000- 6909 WEST C ST. - FREEDOM CONSTRUCTION AND PROPERTY MANAGEMENT TO B&D HOME RENOVATIONS

CASEYVILLE

$250,000- 1109 W. LINCOLN AVE - MICHAEL REES TO THE MARY K. BRUENING REVOCABLE TRUST
$15,500- 7 SPICER DR. - DEUTSCHE BANK TO JOSE HUERTA
$326,991- 108 FOREST OAKS DR. - MCBRIDE AND SON RESIDENTIAL ILLINOIS TO ROBERT AND KATHLEEN LEE

CENTREVILLE

$50,000- 707 MOUSETTE LN. - U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCATION TO APRIL WIGGINS

DUPO

$137,900- 901 KAESTNER DR. - C.A JONES TO LORI AND GENE JACKSON

EAST ST.LOUIS

$6,500- 943 N. 84TH ST. - ASSET EXCHANGE STRATEGIES TO SHARON HEMPHILL

FREEBURG

$39,900- 325 SLEEPING INDIAN DR. - ROSA DEVELOPERS TO DERRICK STUMPF AND KATELYN VOLLMER

MASCOUTAH

$145,500- 1408 ROYAL FOREST DR. - REGIONS BANK TO JOHN RICHARDSON
$16,000- 126 ST. CHRISTOPHER CT. - ST. CHRISTOPHER VILLAS TO JLP HOMES

OFALLON

$222,000- 601 ROYAL CREST WAY - CHRISTOPHER AND LYNDSEY SHERMAN TO JAMIE FLICK
$151,000- 302 GRIFFIN GATE - BARBARA HORNE TO MATTHEW AND STACI LADOWITZ

The surviving spouse of a man allegedly killed following a go-cart crash two years ago at Gateway Motorsports Park has filed a 36-count wrongful death lawsuit in Madison County Circuit Court.

According to the suit filed last week, Thomas Odum was participating in a racing event for clients of Hertz and their employees at the venue in Madison on May 21, 2015, when his go-cart was thrown off track. It went past barriers and through a chain link fence, and ultimately hit a concrete structure, the suit claims.

Flora Odum alleges the track failed to have first responders available to provide rescue services to her husband, and even when an ambulance did arrive it did not have the proper medical equipment and training to help him. She claims that as a result, his family members watched him suffer for approximately 25 minutes following the wreck before "proper" emergency services arrived on scene.

She further claims that Odum received extensive and on-going medical care to treat his injuries and later died as a result of the incident and the allegedly improper emergency and medical response.

A Madison County coroner's inquiry verdict, however, states that Odum died on May 25, 2015, as a result of heart failure, or specifically arteriosclerotic and hypertensive cardiovascular disease.

Flora Odum's suit alleges that riders were not adequately trained as to safety procedures; the go-cart issued to her husband was not equipped with a seat belt, nor was it safe for operating at high speeds.

She claims that despite the wreck incident, "the Gateway Defendants continued the racing that day."

Represented by J. Brad Wilmoth of Page Law in Kirkwood, Mo, Flora Odum also brings suit on behalf of daughter Erin Kuehnel.

Co-defendants include Gateway Kartplex, Abbot Ambulance, Hertz Corp., Gateway Acquisitions, American Medical Response of Illinois, Gateway Motorsports, Gateway International Motorsports Corp. and Gateway Motorsports Corp.

According to Thomas Odum's obituary, he was 52 at the time of his death.

"He loved fast cars, dirt bikes, motorcycles, go-karts," it states in part.

"If it had a motor, he was going to play with it and eventually ride it. While most know him for being a gear head, his real passion was spending the precious moments with his grandchildren."

Financial expert Mark Glennon of Wilmette says in his analysis of a new study on state and local pensions that the only way to reduce the substantial obligations facing Illinois funds are by amending the state constitution or through federal bankruptcy.

A report produced by the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, "Hidden Debt, Hidden Deficits: 2017 Edition," studies in detail 649 pension systems across the U.S. It analyzes the way the funds measure their costs and obligations and how those differ from market valuations "that are consistent with the principles of financial economics."

The report indicates that Illinois systems, by a number of measures, are in the worst shape in the nation with actual liabilities being nearly double what the state reports.

Glennon wrote that if the liabilities of the state's public pensions are measured the way "reputable" financial economists say you should - rather than the way governments under-estimate - "our pension liabilities become utterly absurd."

The study looks at the market value of liability (MLV), which Glennon describes as:

"The basic idea is that, since pension liabilities are guaranteed hell-or-high-water, which the Illinois Supreme Court says is the case for all state and local liabilities, then the investments backing up that guaranty should likewise be guaranteed — safe, secure and low yield. So, the study looks at unfunded pension liabilities from the same perspective: The proper discount rate is what you could earn on Treasury bonds with a duration comparable to what’s owed on the pensions."

According to the report written by Stanford Graduate School of Business finance professor Joshua D. Rauh, while governments reported unfunded pension fund liabilities at $1.378 trillion in fiscal year 2015, when using market valuation techniques the "true" unfunded liability owed to public workers is $3.846 trillion.

"These calculations reflect the fact that accrued pension promises are a form of government debt with strong rights," Rauh wrote. "These unfunded liabilities represent an increase of $434 billion over 2014, as realized asset returns fell far short of their targets."

In Glennon's article posted Tuesday in Wirepoints Illinois News, he notes some of the study's conclusions about Illinois:

•  Illinois pensions have just 29 percent of what they need to meet promises made, which is the worst in the nation, having a total MLV unfunded liability over $360 billion instead of the reported liability of $188 billion.

•  Chicago pensions have 19.9 percent of what they need, the worst of any major city. Its pension debt is more than $90 billion as opposed to the $45 billion officially reported.

•  Cook County’s pension debt is only the second worst among counties in the nation (behind Wayne County, Mich.), being about 30 percent funded. It owes about $18 billion.

He also pointed to what the study indicates about how profound problems are when looking at what it would take to stop deficits from expanding.

"In other words, how much more would it take from taxpayers just to keep these pensions from sinking further into debt?" he wrote.

For instance, Glennon wrote:

•  In Illinois, the state would have to contribute “well over twice of what it actually contributed.”

•  Chicago “would have had to contribute a full 44.5 percent of its own revenue.”

•  Cook County “would have had to contribute more than 40 percent of its own revenue budgets just to prevent unfunded liabilities from rising.”

"You should already know that our pension obligations are insurmountable even using the government’s numbers," Glennon wrote. "The only two ways to reduce those obligations are a state constitutional amendment deleting the pension protection clause or federal bankruptcy."

Factors contributing to the state's pension crisis include guaranteeing workers much more in retirement than they contributed into the systems in which they are vested, and annual cost of living increases.

State lawmakers attempted to fix the pension funding problem in 2013 by passing a bill that cut automatic cost of living increases for retired workers, extended retirement ages and put limits on salaries used to calculate benefits. But in 2015, the Illinois Supreme Court found the law unconstitutional as it sided with public unions, saying the state was obligated to protect public worker pensions.

When St. Clair County Associate Judge Randall Kelley cleared Board of Review member Michael Crockett, Jr. of corruption charges last week, he cleared the client of a former chief judge who greatly increased his judicial power. 

Former circuit judge John Baricevic, who served as Crockett’s defense lawyer, transferred hundreds of big civil actions from Circuit Judge Robert LeChien to Kelley in 2015. 

Baricevic transferred about 130 asbestos actions from Circuit Judge Joseph Lopinot to Kelley last September. 

Current chief judge Andrew Gleeson reversed both decisions upon taking office. 

He handed Kelley’s asbestos docket to Associate Judge Heinz Rudolf, and gave the bigger group of civil suits to Associate Judge Christopher Kolker. 

Baricevic elevated Kelley from family court to civil law in 2015, placing him in charge of actions previously before LeChien. 

Kelley took LeChien’s spot in rotation of civil actions with Gleeson and Lopinot. 

As of Feb. 12, 2016, Kelley presided over 385 civil actions. 

Last September, while running for election, Baricevic relieved Lopinot of 279 actions and divided them between Kelley and Gleeson. 

Nearly all the actions involved asbestos. 

As a matter of form, Kelley presided over those actions for 19 weeks. 

As a matter of fact, he left scarcely any print on them while they were on his docket. 

In that time, Lopinot signed more orders in those actions than Kelley did. 

Gleeson signed orders in some of Kelley’s asbestos actions, before assigning all of them to Rudolf on Feb. 2. 

In the broader docket that Kelley had inherited from LeChien in 2015, Kolker took charge without formal notice. 

Starting on Dec. 1, lawyers who appeared before Kelley in October and November found themselves appearing before Kolker. 

At that point, judges had chosen Gleeson to replace Baricevic in the wake of his November loss to current Circuit Judge Ron Duebbert. 

When Gleeson removed Kelley from civil law, he moved Kelley to criminal court. 

On Jan. 31, Gleeson assigned to Kelley four felony counts alleging that Board of Review member Crockett took a bribe to reduce the tax on a property. 

Circuit Judge Robert Haida had recused himself on Jan. 26. 

Kelley set trial on May 11, without a jury. 

On May 10, assistant state’s attorney Daniel Lewis moved to continue the trial. 

Lewis wrote that the state was made aware of additional defense witnesses on May 5, and appointments were made to speak with them on May 9. 

He wrote that after reviewing their statements in conjunction with other discovery, the state needed time to gather more information. 

Kelley denied the motion, held trial, and found Crockett did no wrong.   

EDWARDSVILLE — Growing up in Edwardsville, Third Judicial Circuit Associate Judge Sarah Smith, a daughter of a lineman and a stay-at-home mom, knew that if she wanted to go college, she would have to figure out a way to pay for it.

One day after she graduated from Edwardsville High School in 1994, she broke the big news to her parents that she enlisted in the army as a mechanic.

“I used the GI bill to pay for undergraduate (school) and law school,” Smith told the Record. “During a drill weekend, sometime after I passed the bar, my commanding officer came out to the motor pool and said, 'Smith, you really need to think about looking for a direct commission and into becoming a JAG Officer.’ After thinking about it for some time, I decided that I wanted to make a career from the Army, so I decided to apply for a direct commission and I was sworn in as a JAG officer in the Illinois Army National Guard.”

More than two decades after Smith started her military career, she was recently certified as a military judge by the Judge Advocate General of the United States Army after graduating from the 60th Military Judge Course at the Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School in Charlottesville, Va. She is the Illinois National Guard’s first military judge under the Illinois Code of Military Justice.

Smith admits she is extremely honored to be selected for this position.

“I honestly could never have imagined that 22 years ago, when I enlisted in the army as a mechanic, that I would be selected for this position,” Smith said.

As a military judge, she will preside over courts-martial of members of the Illinois Army National Guard who are charged with offenses under the Illinois Code of Military Justice (ICMJ), which parallels the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Certain types of court-martials can only be adjudicated by a military judge who is separate from the military command structure and therefore, cannot be influenced in their decisions.

As soon as she received word that she had been selected, she began working on the Illinois Manual for Courts Martial. Though the code was enacted granting the Illinois National Guard the authority to try certain offenses through a court martial, she explained there were no military court rules or trial procedures in place if a case arose and it needed to be tried.

“It was apparent that making sure soldiers received the appropriate due process in these proceedings fell squarely within my responsibility,” Smith said. “The biggest challenge of my new military position will be essentially creating a court system where no system previously existed. Luckily, my civilian judicial experience will go a long way in assisting me with this task.”

Though she has had difficult experiences in the military, she believes they have shaped her into a better officer. Most importantly, she said military service has opened so many doors for her. One of her most unforgettable moments was when she was deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. She was selected to mentor and train the only female general in the Afghan National Army.

“During this mentorship, I was able to work directly with the Afghan Minister of Education and the Afghan Minister of Women’s Affairs to plan and coordinate dozens of humanitarian assistance missions to refugee villages and schools all over Afghanistan," Smith said. 

In addition to serving as a deputy staff judge advocate in Afghanistan, she also served as a chief of administrative law in Kosovo. During her first mission, she was mobilized in support of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. 

Today, she is a lieutenant colonel in the Illinois Army National Guard.

In addition to her judicial experience, Smith acted as a prosecutor and defense counsel while serving as a military attorney, including as a certified special victim’s investigator. 

Smith has earned many service awards, including the Bronze Star Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Kosovo Campaign Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with two campaign stars, and the Joint Meritorious Unit Award.

In Madison County, Smith presides over the court's Family Division. She is a member of the Third Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee, the Standing Committee on Military Affairs for the Illinois State Bar Association and the Illinois Judges Association for which she has been nominated to serve on the Board of Directors for a three-year term. 

Smith is married to Maj. Michael Raschen, a three-tour combat veteran, and she has three sons.

EDWARDSVILLE — A driver is suing another motorist, both Madison County residents, alleging negligence caused a January 2016 collision in St. Louis County.

Matthew R. Skibinski filed a complaint on May 5 in the Madison County Circuit Court against Paul C. Garbe alleging that the defendant failed in his duty of ordinary care in the operation of his vehicle.

According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that on Jan. 14, 2016, while driving in St. Louis County, plaintiff collided with the defendant's vehicle, striking the rear of his vehicle. As a result, Skibinski claims he suffered physical injuries and lost earning capacity. 

The plaintiff holds Garbe responsible because the defendant allegedly failed to keep a proper lookout, failed to properly apply brakes, failed to reduce speed and failed to stop his vehicle in a timely fashion.

The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks judgment in a sum in excess of $50,000, the costs of this action and whatever other remedy this court deems appropriate. He is represented by Gregory M. Tobin of Pratt and Tobin PC in East Alton.

Madison County Circuit Court case number 17-L-S99

EDWARDSVILLE — Two individuals are suing the owner of a Troy alpaca farm, citing alleged breach of contract for refusing to pay an amount due.

Jeffrey Peach and Diane Peach filed a complaint on May 11 in the Madison County Circuit Court against Jeffrey C. Suchland and Alpacas of Troy alleging that the defendants failed to comply with their written contract.

According to the complaint, the plaintiffs allege that on Jan. 24, 2016, defendants signed a contract for purchase of alpacas for $10,000 and fiber mill equipment relating to the alpacas for $65,000. Plaintiffs claim they have delivered the property to the defendant but failed to receive payment. 

The plaintiffs hold Suchland and Alpacas of Troy responsible because the defendants allegedly failed and refused to pay for the purchased alpacas and the fiber mill equipment as agreed in the contract.

The plaintiffs request a trial by jury and seek judgment for the payment of alpacas and fiber mill equipment, plus attorneys' fees, costs, interest and all other relief to which the plaintiffs are entitled. They are represented by Edward J. Blake Jr. of Blake Behme Law Group PC in Belleville.

Madison County Circuit Court case number 17-L-621

EDWARDSVILLE — An employee of Siever Equipment Co. is suing a welding and metal-working product company, citing alleged negligence and breach of implied warranty.

Gregory J. Kruckeberg of Bethalto filed a complaint on May 11 in the Madison County Circuit Court against Forney Industries Inc. doing business as X.O.P., and multiple unnamed persons with the company, alleging that the defendants failed in their duty to design, manufacture and distribute a safe product.

According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that on May 22, 2015, while under the course of his employment, plaintiff was using an air angle grinder or cut off wheel when it malfunctioned cutting his left arm and hand and severing his ulnar nerve. As a result, Kruckeberg's injuries necessitated medical treatment including surgery. 

The plaintiff holds X.O.P. responsible because it allegedly failed to exercise reasonable care in designing, developing and manufacturing the equipment, failed to test the product before introducing it to the market and failed to warn and instruct users of the high degree of risk attendant to using the equipment.

The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks monetary relief in excess of $75,000 for actual, special and compensatory damages, all costs incurred, attorneys' fees, expenses, pre- and post-judgment interest and such other relief as the court deems just and proper. He is represented by Bob L. Perica of The Perica Law Firm PC in Wood River.

Madison County Circuit Court case number 17-L-622

MT. VERNON — The Fifth District Appellate Court has upheld the murder conviction of Marcus Baldwin.

The court found that Baldwin, 24, who was convicted of shooting and killing 19-year-old Dantavier (Dan) Thompson during a heated exchange, failed to prove his claim that assistant public defender Kerri Davis failed to provide effective assistance during his trial. 

According to the decision written on May 3 by Justice Melissa Chapman, Baldwin, who was also convicted of two counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm and was sentenced to serve the three counts consecutively, argued that his attorney failed to object to "testimony that a police officer believed one of the witnesses was not being honest with him during an interview at the police station where there was no evidence concerning what that witness said that the officer did not believe." 

Baldwin also claimed "hearsay testimony by one officer concerning the contents of another officer’s police report where the facts described could be inferred from other evidence should not have been permissible."

Finally, Baldwin argued that improper comments made during the prosecutor’s closing argument were prejudicial enough to warrant reversal had counsel objected.

The case stems from the July 28, 2012, murder of Thompson. According to court documents, two cars drove erratically down Tremont Street in Alton. Thompson was the driver of one of the cars. According to two of the witnesses, the driver of the second car yelled insults out the window at a group of young men hanging out on the sidewalk in front of a house in Alton. Shots were fired at the passing vehicles, one of which struck Dan Thompson in the back of the head, causing his death. After a lengthy investigation, Baldwin was named as the shooter by witnesses.

Baldwin was sentenced to 20 years for first-degree murder with an additional 25 years attached to the sentence because a gun was used in the murder. The trial court said Baldwin would serve a minimum six years for each of the counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm. He would be required to serve 100 percent of the murder charge and 85 percent of the sentence related to the firearm charges. 

During the Madison County trial by jury, Davis argued that witnesses who identified Baldwin as the shooter were intimidated by police by telling them they could be charged if they did not tell the truth.

She further argued that the witnesses were afraid of going to prison if they did not tell the story the police wanted to hear. She also said the two witnesses who testified that Baldwin was the shooter received deals in unrelated criminal cases in exchange for their testimony.

In the 3-0 decision, the appellate justices upheld Baldwin's conviction but reversed a decision that his three sentences be served consecutively. They noted that "we do not believe that counsel’s failure to object prejudiced the defendant.”

"In the face of all of the evidence, we do not believe the minimal prejudice from the asserted errors was sufficient to sway a jury that was otherwise likely to acquit the defendant,” Chapman wrote. "Because the defendant cannot show that a different result was reasonably likely, he cannot satisfy the prejudice prong of the Strickland test. Therefore, his claim of ineffective assistance of counsel must fail."

BELLEVILLE — A man who worked for years as a welder has filed a lawsuit against dozens of companies alleging their negligence led to his contact with asbestos that ultimately was responsible for the lung cancer diagnosis he received.

David Flannigan and his wife, Edith, filed the lawsuit in the St. Clair County Circuit Court. They are represented by Glen Carbon-based Flint Law Firm. They seek a jury trial.

According to the lawsuit, Flannigan worked as a lineman at Western Electric in St. Louis from 1962 to 1963. He served in the Army as a truck driver in 1963 and 1964. From 1965 to 1979, he was employed by Babcock & Wilcox as a boiler welder in the manufacturing plant located in Mt. Vernon, Indiana, and was employed by a number of companies working through the Boilermakers Union 374 from 1980 to 2004 in and around Illinois, Tennessee, Indiana and Kentucky.

While Flannigan worked, and during non-occupational work projects, the lawsuit alleges that he was exposed to and inhaled asbestos fibers and/or asbestiform fibers emanating from certain products he was working with and around, which were manufactured, sold, distributed or installed by the defendants.

According to the lawsuit, Flannigan’s exposure to asbestos was preventable by the defendants. It alleges that the defendants knew or should have known that the asbestos fibers contained in their products had a toxic, poisonous and hazardous effect on the health of anyone inhaling or ingesting them.

Flannigan learned he had lung cancer on July 13, 2016, and he later learned it was the result of his exposure to asbestos during his working career, the suit claims.

The lawsuit alleges that the defendant companies had a duty to exercise reasonable care and caution for Flannigan and other workers working around the products containing asbestos.

While the companies allegedly knew that their products contained the material, the lawsuit contends that the defendants made no effort to use safer substitutes to asbestos. 

The lawsuit also contends that the companies failed to provide warnings to anyone working with the products of the potential dangers posed by asbestos. They also allegedly failed to provide any or adequate instructions concerning the safe methods of working with and around the products, including specific instructions on how to avoid inhaling, ingesting or absorbing the asbestos fibers in them. They also failed to conduct tests on any of their products containing asbestos.

Further, the lawsuit alleges that the companies designed products that included asbestos-containing components or designed respiratory protection systems that failed to protect Flannigan from inhaling asbestos or asbestiform fibers.

The lawsuit also alleges that as a result of the negligence of the defendants, Flannigan was exposed to asbestos or asbestiform fibers, causing him to develop lung cancer, which will ultimately lead to his death.

Moreover, the lawsuit contends that as a result of the negligence of the defendants, Flannigan faces growing debts for medical bills, hospital visits and medical and other health care services needed for treatment of his lung cancer. He also will endure pain, suffering and mental anguish as a result of the disease. He also will be prevented from working and earning any additional income.

The suit also alleges negligence, willful and wanton against the defendants as manufacturers of asbestos products.

The lawsuit alleges that defendants, including Metropolitan Life Insurance, Honeywell International and Pneumo Abex Corp., conspired among themselves and with other entities, including Johns-Manville Corp., Union Asbestos & Rubber Co., Pittsburgh-Corning Corp. and United States Gypsum, to expose Flannigan to products containing asbestos products.

The lawsuit contends that Metropolitan Life Insurance, Honeywell International and Pneumo Abex Corp. were in a position as agents of other “co-conspirators” to have “superior knowledge” regarding the hazards of asbestos. They also allegedly participated in the intentional publication of deceptive and misleading medical data and information.

A count of negligent spoliation of evidence alleges that the named defendants possessed information relating to the issues of the case. The lawsuit also alleges that the defendants had a duty to preserve and maintain potential evidence in asbestos litigation.

A count of willful and wanton spoliation of evidence in the suit alleges that defendants destroyed and disposed of evidence that was key to the cases, impeding Flannigan’s ability to prove his case against them.

A count of strict liability/ultra-hazardous activity is leveled against Commonwealth Edison Co. and Hoosier Energy Rural Electric Cooperative Inc., alleging Flannigan was exposed to asbestos at their facilities and as a result of the exposure developed lung cancer.

The lawsuit also alleges loss of consortium, alleging that his wife and other family members have been deprived of the companionship and services of their loved one.

The suit further alleges negligence, noting that Flannigan had no reasonable way to know the risks associated with asbestos and the defendants should have known this. It also alleges the defendants had a duty to ensure work areas were safe.

The suit also alleges that Flannigan has become liable for medical expenses and will suffer pain and mental anguish as he battles lung cancer. 

According to the lawsuit, Flannigan is seeking compensatory and punitive damages and exemplary damages of at least $50,000 for each of eight counts against the defendants named.

BELLEVILLE — An Illinois man and his wife have filed a lawsuit in St. Clair County Circuit Court against dozens of companies alleging that his recent lung cancer diagnosis is the result of prolonged asbestos exposure.

James Eagle and his wife, Carolyn, are represented by the Edwardsville law firm of Gori, Julian & Associates PC. They are seeking a jury trial.

According to the lawsuit, Eagle worked from 1964 to 1965 as a grinder at Kelly Ban Mill, from 1966 to 1972 as a roustabout at Wayne Smith Operator and from 1972 to 1982 as a laborer at Marathon Oil Co., all in Lawrence County.

The lawsuit alleges that during his working life, Eagle was exposed to and inhaled, ingested or absorbed large amounts of asbestos fibers from products he was working with and around. These products were manufactured, sold, distributed or installed by the defendants named in the lawsuit.

The defendants named in the lawsuit include CBS Corp., Chevron Phillips Chemical Co., General Electric Co., Texaco Inc.; Young Insulation Group of St. Louis Inc.; and Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., among many others.

The lawsuit also alleges that Eagle’s exposure to asbestos was preventable by the defendants. It alleges that the defendants knew or should have known that the asbestos fibers contained in their products had a toxic, poisonous and hazardous effect on the health of anyone inhaling or ingesting them.

On Oct. 19, 2015, Eagle learned that he had developed lung cancer and he later learned that it was likely a result of his exposure to asbestos.

Further, the lawsuit contends that the defendants should have exercised due caution for the safety of Eagle and others working with and around the products containing asbestos.

Despite knowing that their products contained asbestos, the lawsuit contends that the defendants made no effort to use safer substitutes.

According to the suit, the companies named in the lawsuit allegedly failed to provide any or adequate instructions concerning the safe methods of working with and around the products, including specific instructions on how to avoid inhaling, ingesting or absorbing the asbestos fibers in them. They also failed to conduct tests on any of their products containing asbestos.

The lawsuit also claims that as a result of the negligence of the defendants, Eagle faces growing debts for medical bills, hospital visits and medical and other healthcare services needed for treatment of his lung cancer. He also will endure pain, suffering and mental anguish as a result of the disease. He also will be prevented from working and earning any additional income.

The suit alleges negligence, conspiracy, unsafe working conditions, fraudulent misrepresentation, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent spoliation of evidence and willful and wanton spoliation of evidence.

The lawsuit also alleges loss of consortium, alleging that Carolyn Eagle and other family members have been deprived the companionship and services of their loved one.

According to the lawsuit, Eagle is seeking compensatory and punitive damages and exemplary damages of at least $50,000 for each of eight counts.

The Fifth District appellate court affirmed St. Clair County Circuit Judge Robert LeChien’s decision denying a special education teacher’s petition for administrative review of his dismissal from the Cahokia school district after he forged a signature on a legal document.

Justice Thomas Welch delivered the Rule 23 decision on May 5. Justices Randy Moore and Melissa Chapman concurred.

The appellate court affirmed Shannon Horn’s dismissal by the Board of Education of the Cahokia School District No. 187, but found it "disproportionately harsh." 

“While this court may not agree with the Board’s decision to terminate Horn, particularly as his conduct did not impact the District’s ability to provide services or cause educational harm to the student, our supreme court has made it clear that reversal is only appropriate where the Board’s decision to terminate was arbitrary, unreasonable, or unrelated to the requirements of service,” Welch wrote.

Horn was a tenured special education teacher with the Cahokia Unit School District No. 187. He had been working for the district for 12 years as an educator prior to his termination.

As part of his job, it was his duty to participate and prepare his special education students’ individual education plans (IEP), which are required for special needs students to receive special education services.

IEPs must be annually reviewed and renewed by the district, which begins with the special education teacher submitting a draft plan for review to the local education authority (LEA).

The LEA is generally a teacher and is authorized to commit the district to the plan.

On Dec. 16, 2013, Horn forged the signature of the District’s LEA designee on a student’s IEP, which constitutes an enforcement of a legal document binding the school district to provide the services outlined in the plan. The district’s LEA designee at the time was Michele Quirin.

On April 14, 2014, the president of the Board of Education for the school district approved eight charges against Horn and sought his dismissal for his alleged "irremediable" conduct. 

The charges state that Horn falsified documents by forging the signature, negligently submitted an education plan with a forged signature, failed to timely complete the plan and thus failed to obtain the proper signature, failed to prepare a proper education plan and exposed the school district to sanctions for failure to comply with state law and regulations.

The board determined that Horn is not qualified to teach and that his dismissal “is in the best interests of the school.”

Horn requested a hearing, which was held July 21, 2014, before hearing officer Brian Clauss.

During the hearing, testimony revealed that Horn was evaluated in 2007-08 and placed on an awareness phase for issues relating to deficient completion of his IEPs, which is the first of three phases in disciplinary action.

Horn successfully completed his awareness phase, but was again placed on an awareness phase for the same issue in 2011-12.

Teachers are evaluated every two years.

At the time of the incident leading to his termination, Horn had not yet received his evaluation for the 2013-14 school year.

According to the hearing, an annual review meeting was scheduled in October 2013 for special education student C.M.

All of the required parties agreed to the substance of the student’s IEP for the upcoming year.

Due to excessive paperwork, Quirin allegedly failed to sign the IEP. Horn was expected to complete and turn in C.M.’s final IEP after the meeting.

On Nov. 15, 2013, Victoria Breckel, assistant director of special education, informed Horn that there were still corrections that he needed to make to the IEPs that he had turned in and that she wanted to meet on Dec. 3, 2013, to review the corrections.

Breckel, Quirin and Horn met to finalize the IEPs. No changes were made to C.M.’s IEP after that meeting.

On Dec. 16, Horn went to make copies of his final IEPs and noticed that C.M.’s IEP had not been signed by Quirin.

He testified at the hearing that he attempted to contact Quirin but could not reach her. He decided to sign her name and have her initial it after winter break.

He added that he forged the signature because he was already late in turning in his IEPs and wanted to avoid any issues with his upcoming evaluation.

Quirin testified that she discovered the forged signature on Feb. 4, 2014, at a conference for C.M.’s triennial evaluation of special education services because her name had been misspelled.

She claimed Horn failed to contact her about the unsigned IEP.

She agreed that the IEP was not signed due to an oversight, the student’s services were not affected due to the incident and the district did not suffer harm.

Breckel testified that while the signature went undiscovered, the IEP was legally unenforceable, and while the forged signature was on the document, the district was out of compliance with state and federal regulations.

District superintendent Arthur Ryan recommended Horn be terminated. He testified that Horn’s actions constituted fraud and showed a moral indifference to what a “good and respectable” teacher is expected to do.

“Specifically, Ryan stated that the special education department lost confidence and trust in Horn, and a violation of trust affects the entire operation because it forces the creation of ‘special circumstances’ to track employees that cannot be trusted to operate independently,” the ruling states.

Leslie Harder, president of the teacher’s union, testified that while it was a mistake for Horn to forge the signature, she believed Horn did not act maliciously or for personal gain. She thought he should have been given an opportunity to correct his actions before termination.

Clauss concluded that the board failed to meet the burden of proof to establish that Horn was removed for cause. He recommended that Horn be allowed to return to work.

He found that nothing showed that a warning would not have corrected the conduct and that the district could not prove Horn intended to defraud.

“Clauss opined that, even if the District proved that Horn’s sole motivating factor for forging Quirin’s signature was to avoid discipline for a late IEP, ‘it is insufficient proof of an ‘intent to defraud,’’” Welch wrote.

The board considered Clauss’ statements but still dismissed Horn on Nov. 10, 2014, concluding that Horn’s conduct caused damage to the operation of the school and a warning would not have prevented the alleged harm.

Horn filed a petition for administrative review. The circuit court affirmed the board’s decision on Sept. 9, 2015.

Horn appealed.

The appellate court affirmed the decision.

St. Clair County Circuit Court case number 14-MR-468

Internet privacy legislation making its way through Springfield is more in line with the interests of the trial bar than it is with consumer protection, critics say.

But a director at a lobbying group advocating for better online privacy says the legislation is needed because "significant parts of the tech industry have played too loose with personal data for too long."

"We have seen massive data breaches, combined with rampant commercial and government abuse of commercial data collection," said Matthew Erickson, outreach director of Digital Privacy Alliance (DPA) in Chicago.

The DPA supports both bills and was one of several groups asked to comment on the draft legislation, Erickson said. One of DPA's board members is a litigator at the class action firm Edelson PC in Chicago.

Edelson firm founder Jay Edelson, described in an April 4 New York Times article as the "boogeyman" to technology executives because he specializes in privacy violation suits, said in a statement Tuesday that he did not write the bills pending in the Illinois legislature.

He also was quoted in a March 26 New York Times article saying the DPA was needed politically because "once we started winning a lot of cases...they all went on the offensive."

“It’s important because the Trump administration is doing so much to roll back privacy rights, so there is going to be a huge shift to state lawmakers and state attorneys general," Edelson stated in the article.

In the meantime, Erickson says that all the DPA is asking for is "transparency and consent around how data is collected and to where it’s sold."

The Right to Know Act - which would require commercial website operators or services such as Google and Facebook to let its customer know what personal information is shared with third parties - and the Geolocation Privacy Protection proposal - which would require entities to get the express consent of device owners to collect, use, store or disclose their whereabouts - have advanced along party lines in both chambers and separately await further action in each.

Language in both measures explicity state that legal action may be taken against alleged violators.

The Geolocation proposal gives authority to the attorney general to pursue actions under the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. It would allow for attorneys' fees and costs and injunctive relief. It would further allow courts to award three times the amount of actual damages assessed.

A provision that allowed for private right of action in the Right to Know Act has been amended to give sole enforcement authority to the state attorney general or a state's attorney's office. The proposal's title also has been amended to the Illinois Right to Know Data Transparency and Privacy Protection Act.

Outspoken critic of the legislation, Illinois Chamber of Commerce president Todd Maisch, said the proposals are attempting to fix problems that don't exist, and further that both are "as thinly veiled as pro-trial lawyer legislation comes."

"There's already an awful lot of federal regulation to protect consumer privacy," he said. "This (set of proposals) is worse than duplication. It creates huge new problems for consumers and for companies to comply with."

All businesses would have to comply, he said, including small operators that would be particularly hard hit.

The Right to Know Act "would require any business with a website — even a local flower shop or pizza parlor — to draft privacy policies longer and more confusing than anything required by existing law and to create new IT systems — at best, a complex and expensive undertaking; at worst, impossible to implement — to respond to consumer requests under threat of liability," Maisch wrote in a recent op-ed.

Internet privacy concerns, he said, belong in the realm of federal policy.

"The notion that all 50 states have privacy statements that are not consistent is problematic," he said.

Maisch said he would be concerned that some law firms would attempt to set up businesses in "gotcha" situations, the way that some have purposely gamed alleged violators of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

"They say they are trying to enforce the law, but really are looking to reach $10,000, $15,000 settlements," he said.

John Pastuovic, president of the Illinois Civil Justice League, said that everyone would likely agree that reasonable guidelines are needed to ensure consumer privacy, but the current proposals in Springfield "are falling in the same old trial lawyer trap of using lawsuits to enforce the new standards."

Pastuovic called it "ironic" that under the proposals, companies could be sued for using consumer information without expressed consent."

"Trial lawyers would likely add those same consumers to their mass tort actions, without having to get their permission," he said.

Pastuovic also said that legislators should keep working until they find a better way to protect consumer data.

"There has got to be a better way" than what is currently being proposed, he said.

As for Illinois Chamber criticism that the legislation could create more ways for consumer information to be stolen from untested databases, Erickson countered that the DPA doesn't feel it will.

"In fact, we feel that consumers' understanding of where their data will be going to, plus the opt-in nature of geolocation data collection required by the Geolocation Privacy Protection Act, will reduce the total amount of data to be leaked," he said. "There are hundreds of methods a service can use to identify their users for compliance purposes that firms are already using for tracking purposes. In fact, for simple cases without dynamically constructing datasets for sale, a service could conceivably use a form letter for response, minimizing the amount of implementation effort or data collected for compliance."

He agreed that federal legislation and regulation would provide the best outcomes for businesses and consumers, but believes that Congress "has no interest in protecting the digital privacy rights of Americans, as evidenced by the recent repeal of FCC regulations concerning how Internet Service Providers handle sensitive personal data about their customers."

He said Illinois is not the only state to "step up" to fill the congressional void.

And he said that if big data groups are so supportive of online privacy remaining under federal law and regulation, "why don't they support Federal privacy legislation and regulation instead of celebrating its removal?"

The Right to Know Act passed in the Senate on May 4. It had a first reading in the House on Tuesday and was referred to Rules.

The Geolocation bill passed in the House on April 27. It had a first reading in the Senate on May 2 and was referred to Assignments.

Travis Akin, executive director of Illinois Lawsuit Abuse Watch, said the state legislature shoud be enacting lawsuit reforms to "put people back to work."

"We cannot add jobs and opportunities if we keep inventing ways to file more lawsuits in Illinois," he said.

St. Clair County Associate Judge Randall Kelley has set a June 1 hearing on a motion to reconsider his verdict finding Brad Van Hoose guilty of misdemeanor assault. 

At a status conference on May 17, Kelley asked special prosecutor David Rands if he wanted to respond to Van Hoose’s charge that he concealed evidence. 

Rands said yes. 

“This changes the playing field significantly, from my evaluation,” Kelley said. 

Prior to the hearing, Van Hoose filed a complaint against Rands with the Illinois Attorney Registration and Discipline Commission. 

Van Hoose alleged that Rands failed to produce a Federal Bureau of Investigation report that would have helped his defense. 

Van Hoose, who has represented himself since his trial, obtained the FBI report by asking Rands to produce all records in his case file. 

At the status conference, Van Hoose said the report doesn’t carry a file stamp showing its origination. 

He asked if the report came through Caseyville police or straight from the FBI.  

“I am not prepared to answer any questions,” Rands said. 

Van Hoose told Kelley he has asked the FBI for its entire case file. 

“If you get new stuff, let me know,” Kelley said. 

The case required a special prosecutor because Van Hoose had given a deposition as a witness for the county in a civil suit. 

Rands presented the Van Hoose case to grand jurors last September, and they indicted Van Hoose on a felony charge of threatening Caseyville mayor Leonard Black. 

Van Hoose and his trial counsel, Jack Daugherty, chose a bench trial over a jury. 

At trial in February, Rands presented testimony from Black, eyewitness Bob Romanik, and Caseyville police chief Frank Moore. 

Kelley rejected the felony charge, finding Van Hoose’s speech did not pertain to Black’s official duties. 

Kelley then found Van Hoose guilty of misdemeanor assault. 

Van Hoose chose to seek reconsideration, rather than petition for review at the Fifth District appellate court in Mount Vernon. 

On March 15, he filed a document that he titled as a motion to reconsider. 

He wrote that Daugherty withdrew as his counsel. 

He received notice that Kelley would hear the motion on May 1. 

On April 26, Kelley canceled the hearing and denied the motion. 

He ruled that he lacked jurisdiction over Van Hoose’s document because Daugherty had not withdrawn. 

Van Hoose then asked Rands for his file, and Rands provided it. 

It contained a copy of a withdrawal motion that Daugherty signed, bearing a March 8 file stamp of State’s Attorney Brendan Kelly. 

The original motion doesn’t appear in records of Circuit Clerk Kahalah Clay. 

On May 10, Van Hoose received notice of a status conference on May 17. 

On May 12, Daugherty received notice of the conference. 

As the hearing began, with Daugherty present, Kelley addressed the mystery of the withdrawal motion in the records of the state’s attorney. 

“I have no idea how they got it and it never ended up on the third floor,” Kelley said. 

“I apologize that I didn’t have everything in front of me so I could respond appropriately to what was in front of me. 

“If you need to go to the appellate court, the record will reflect that there will be no impediment. 

“I would welcome what the appellate court would have to say.” 

He asked Van Hoose if he wished to proceed as his own counsel. 

Van Hoose said, “At this time, yes.” 

Kelley asked Daugherty to prepare an order for his withdrawal. 

Daugherty wrote it and Kelley signed it. 

Kelley said he would adopt the reconsideration motion. 

Van Hoose asked about his deadline to appeal. 

Kelley said, “You have no appellate deadline because your motion to reconsider has tolled all time.”

In an unanimous opinion, the Illinois Supreme Court agreed the Illinois High School Association – the organization which partners with high schools to oversee high school athletics across the state – does not need to share its documents with the public under the Freedom of Information Act.

The Better Government Association filed a FOIA complaint against the IHSA in Cook County Circuit Court in 2014. Circuit Judge Mary L. Mikva dismissed the one-count complaint, and in July 2016 the Illinois First District Appellate Court agreed, refusing to compel IHSA to turn over certain documents.

Supreme Court Justice Mary Jane Theis wrote the opinion, filed May 18, finally resolving the BGA’s complaint stemming from June 5, 2014, when it submitted a written request to the IHSA seeking the organization’s contracts for accounting, legal, sponsorship and public relations/crisis communications services for fiscal years ending in 2013 and 2014. IHSA responded that its federal nonprofit status makes it exempt from FOIA.  

BGA asked the circuit court to declare IHSA a subsidiary “public body” under FOIA rules, to declare the group performs a governmental function for its member schools and to compel IHSA and south suburban District 230 to produce the records. In upholding Mikva’s dismissal, the appellate panel cited the 1978 Illinois Third District Appellate Court ruling in Rockford Newspapers Inc. v. Northern Illinois Council on Alcoholism & Drug Dependence, which “articulated a three-part test for determining whether an entity is a ‘subsidiary body’ as the term is used in the Open Meetings Act.”

The three components ask whether the entity has legal existence outside of government resolution; the nature of its functions; and the degree of government control exerted.  Lampkin said IHSA passes on all three questions. The Supreme Court reviewed the same issue, noting it had “not yet considered whether a private entity could be considered a ‘subsidiary body’ under the FOIA.”

The BGA asked the Supreme Court to consider both the extent to which a private entity can, under federal civil rights laws, be found to have performed a state function, and whether any private entity is entitled to governmental tort immunity. The court rejected the first request.

“The fact that in some instances,” Theis wrote, “a private entity’s conduct may subject it to the constitutional limits placed on state action based on the federal courts’ ‘state actor’ analysis is not necessarily helpful in determining the scope of the statutory definition of ‘public body’ as defined by our General Assembly.”

With respect to the tort immunity request, Theis wrote the key inquiry again is if the entity seeking immunity is operationally controlled by a local government, something the court said needs to be determined on a case-by-case basis.

Theis noted the BGA did not specifically allege which public body holds the IHSA as a subsidiary and further that “IHSA’s governing documents do not reflect any such organizational structure.” Founded in 1900, IHSA “has had a separate legal existence, independent from any public body, for more than the past 100 years,” she added. “The IHSA has never been ‘housed’ within a public body, and its rules and regulations have never been part of the School Code.”

Although the BGA is correct in asserting the majority of IHSA’s membership is public schools, Theis said the IHSA constitution does not require that be so, nor are the unpaid IHSA board members accountable to any particular district or school. IHSA staff members are not paid from government funds or eligible for government retirement and insurance programs.

Theis further explained that the IHSA does not act on behalf of District 230 with regards to the records the BGA sought, nor does District 230 delegate its governmental functions to the IHSA.

“The responsibility to govern and coordinate interscholastic athletic competitions for public and private school students” is not a District 230 function under the law, Theis wrote, nor is there any such language in the School Code except that allowing school boards to join or form associations.

According to Cook County court records, the IHSA was defended in the action by attorneys with the firm of Dykema Gossett PLLC, of Chicago.

The BGA was represented by the firm of Loevy & Loevy, of Chicago.

The state Supreme Court has disbarred porn hacking litigator John Steele, striking his name from the roll of licensed attorneys in Illinois.

Court action filed on May 18 granted Steele's motion to strike.

Steele, who shared in a $6 million gain from representing sham entities in courts including St. Clair County, pleaded guilty two months ago in federal court in Minnesota to mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering.

He admitted that he enticed individuals to download pornographic movies, sued them for copyright infringement, and extorted settlements around $3,000.  

Steele’s plea agreement set a range of sentences from eight to 10 years, and a range of fines from $30,000 to $300,000.  

His sentencing date had not been set as of May 19.

His guilty plea also provided for an order of $3 million in restitution.  

Steele’s partner, Paul Hansmeier, pleaded not guilty to the same charges.  

They once operated as the firm of Steele Hansmeier in Chicago, but they changed the name to Prenda Law Firm in the midst of their scheme.  

Steele’s plea agreement implicated Hansmeier, stating that they obtained copyrights to movies and uploaded them to file sharing websites.  

It stated that they fraudulently induced courts to give them power to subpoena internet providers and identify subscribers.  

St. Clair County Circuit Judge Andrew Gleeson, who presided over the local cases, granted such power to sham entities Guava and Lightspeed.  

The plea agreement stated, “When Steele and Hansmeier ensnared someone in their trap, they filed false and deceptive copyright infringement lawsuits that concealed their role in distributing the movies, as well as their significant personal stake in the outcome of the litigation.”  

It also stated that they garnered quick settlements from individuals who were too embarrassed to defend themselves or couldn’t afford to do it. In 2011 and 2012, Steele and Hansmeier filed at least 200 suits throughout the country seeking information on more than 3,000 addresses.  

Steele and Hansmeier hired actresses and filmed movies in Chicago, Las Vegas, and Miami, not for commercial distribution but for trapping viewers, the plea agreement states.  

Their scheme began to unravel in 2013, when U.S. District Judge Otis Wright of Los Angeles sanctioned them for brazen misconduct and relentless fraud.  

“Plaintiffs borrow the authority of the court to pressure settlement,” Wright wrote.  

He referred them to the Department of Justice for criminal investigation.  

The Lightspeed case from Gleeson’s court wound up in federal court, where former District Judge Patrick Murphy sanctioned Steele and Hansmeier.  

The Guava case wound up at the Fifth District appellate court, which reversed Gleeson’s discovery order.  

Grand jurors indicted Steele and Hansmeier last December, charging mail fraud, wire fraud, money laundering and perjury.  

U.S. attorney Andrew Luger wrote that Steele, Hansmeier and their employees made 14 false statements to courts.

He wrote that employee Mark Lutz falsely swore that his unborn children were sole beneficiaries of a trust that held membership in a sham entity.  

When Steele’s copyright infringement litigation business ended, he opened a firm in Chicago that specialized in threatening suit against business for alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The model for the ADA suits was similar to that of the porn hacking suits in that Steele would send demand letters to business owners who were purportedly not compliant with the federal law.

Margot Sersen, owner of Chicago’s LaSalle Flowers, received such a letter from Steele’s Accessibility Law Group in 2015.

Sersen’s shop, a building typical of its River North neighborhood, was built in the 19th Century, with a front entrance abutting the public sidewalk, leaving no room for a permanent ramp.

When Sersen received a letter from Steele, asserting that his client, Chicago resident Mary Mizerk, couldn’t maneuver her wheelchair up the 5-inch stoop, she thought she would be safely “grandfathered in” from any litigation.

But Sersen soon learned the ADA does not acknowledge such a defense. Any physical barrier, even those created prior to the ADA’s adoption, can be cause for a discrimination suit.

Sersen finally settled, paying $2,500, plus the cost of a removable aluminum ramp, which was approximately $150, she said.

Seven misconduct charges had been pending against Steele at the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission before the Supreme Court's disbarment order was entered on Thursday.  

The ARDC registry shows that Hansmeier never held an Illinois license.

A third member of the Prenda firm, Paul Duffy, died of heart- and alcohol-related conditions on Aug. 10, 2015, a date by which he and Steele had been ordered to pay a discovery obstruction sanction in federal court in East St. Louis.