Posted on January 26, 2016 in Divorce

When your spouse has engaged in behavior that is destructive to your relationship, it is not unreasonable to want to extract a measure of recompense. If his infidelity or her continued verbal abuse caused your marriage to break down, you may feel entitled to some type of restitution or other consideration to help alleviate your loss. While such a reaction may be a normal part of the grieving process inherent to divorce, the law in Illinois does not really provide such relief.

No Recognized Fault

For many years, it was possible to obtain a divorce on fault grounds in the state of Illinois. Doing so required proof of a spouse’s wrongdoing, which could often be very difficult, but the judgment actually reflected a specific reason for the divorce. Such grounds included adultery, physical or mental abuse, abandonment, habitual substance abuse, and the commission of an infamous crime. Divorce proceedings involving fault, however, were rarely conducive to amicable settlements, which has become a major focus of divorce laws around the country. In keeping with such trends, Illinois has eliminated fault grounds for divorce beginning in 2016. Now, no matter what may have happened within the marriage, a divorce will only be granted on the no-fault grounds of irreconcilable differences.

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 Posted on January 25, 2016 in White Collar Crime

Counterfeiting is a serious crime that involves the illegal and unauthorized reproduction of legal tender (i.e., money), goods or documents that is made in a way that would likely fool an unsuspecting recipient of the counterfeited item. It is a form of fraud with very serious consequences. Common examples of counterfeiting include:

• Counterfeit U.S. or foreign currency;
• Counterfeit government issued bonds;
• Counterfeit educational degrees;
• Counterfeit legal documents (i.e., passports, birth certificates, immigration papers, Social Security cards, etc.);
• Counterfeit common goods, which includes knock off products;
• Counterfeit of a trademark;
• Counterfeit credit cards or debit cards;
• Counterfeit luxury goods, such as name brand watches, sunglasses or purses; and
• Counterfeit checks.

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 Posted on January 21, 2016 in Criminal Defense

News stories and government reports often focus on the numbers and trends related to violent crime. Aside from the obvious social and cultural impact of such actions, the penalties for violent crimes are the among the harshest in the criminal justice system. To provide a level of statewide consistency, many violent crimes carry mandatory minimum sentences.

What Crimes Are Considered Violent?

Violent crimes involve harm or threat of harm to other people. They are considered to be much more serious than property crimes like theft or trespassing. Common examples of these type of offenses in Illinois include:

• Murder;
• Sexual assault;
• Battery;
• Robbery;
• Assault and/or battery;
• Kidnapping;
• Reckless discharge of a weapon; and
• Arson.

Domestic violence crimes are also considered violent crimes. If you are charged with a violent crime, bail is likely to be set higher upon your arraignment, if you are eligible for bail at all.

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 Posted on January 20, 2016 in Illinois Laws

The newest rendition of alcohol is a freeze dried form of powdered or crystallized alcohol. The powdered alcohol is considerably lighter than traditional liquid alcohol and can easily be transported. The powdered alcohol is mixed with water or other liquids to form an alcoholic beverage.

Powdered alcohol was approved for use in the United States by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau in 2015. However powdered alcohol is not readily available in the United States. Obtaining the approval of the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau was the last regulatory step required before powdered alcohol can be manufactured and sold in the United States. The earliest that powdered alcohol will be available for purchase in the United States is by the upcoming summer. But there are a number of states that have proactively banned powdered alcohol sales and use before the substance is even available on the market.

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 Posted on January 19, 2016 in Child Support

For a number of years now, Illinois family courts have had the authority to order one or both parents to contribute toward the post-high school education of their children. In fact, the court even has the discretion to order college expense support to be drawn from the estate of a deceased parent. However, until very recently, each case was considered entirely on its own merits with little in the way of standardized guidelines to provide consistency. Beginning this year, the future of non-minor support proceedings may look significantly different.

Subjective Decisions

In years past, a parent looking for help paying for his or her child’s college expenses could ask the court to require the other parent to assist. The court would examine three relatively subjective factors in making its determination, including the financial resources of each parent, those of the child, and the child’s academic performance. Everything else was considered on a case-by-case basis, including the choice of school, the appropriateness of the educational program, and the costs to cover reasonable expenses.

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 Posted on January 18, 2016 in Expungement

When you are convicted of a crime in Illinois, you may not want everyone to know that you have been convicted. Unfortunately, as a general rule, most criminal records are made available for public inspection. However, certain crimes may be eligible for expungement, which means that all records about that crime can be completely removed from the court records and indexes except for a copy that is provided to you, or sealing. Sealed records are kept confidential, and only a limited set of people may access them.

In some situations where you were charged with a crime, but not convicted, a criminal record will be generated, but it may also be eligible for expungement or sealing. Expungement of a criminal record is the best possible scenario, but sometimes it is not possible to obtain an expungement because the crime is ineligible. The next best option would be to try and have the record sealed.

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 Posted on January 14, 2016 in Criminal Defense

White-collar crime is a term that refers to many different offenses. It is not an official legal category of crime. The term is most often used to refer to non-violent property or financial crimes. There is often a component of fraud or fiscal impropriety to white-collar crimes.

Types of White-Collar Crimes

Because the law does not distinguish between white-collar crimes and other types of crimes, it is not possible to provide a comprehensive list of everything that may be considered a white-collar crime. Additionally, there are both Illinois state crimes and federal crimes that are often considered to be white-collar offenses.

Here are a few crimes that are generally considered to be white-collar crimes:

• Embezzlement;
• Bank fraud;
• Securities fraud;
• Identity theft;

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 Posted on January 13, 2016 in Your Rights

Many people who have been taken into custody feel pressured and scared. When criminal suspects do not know their rights, there is a chance that law enforcement will take liberties with the suspect, questioning them and trying to draw out a confession, when the suspect should have asked for an attorney. Juveniles accused of a crime are particularly at risk for this to happen to them. Sometimes, law enforcement will say that the suspect admitted to something, or confessed, when in reality they did not, or sometimes law enforcement will twist something the suspect says and call it a confession. Regardless of how it happens, these are not true confessions. They are fake or coerced, and should not be taken as the truth.

Police and prosecutors will treat a false confession as if it were real, and proving that the confession was fake or coerced from the start can be challenging. A false confession can lead to a criminal conviction, a long prison sentence, and a lasting criminal record.

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 Posted on January 12, 2016 in Child Support

With the recent updates to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act taking effect this month, 2016 promises to be a year of change for families around the state. New laws regarding divorce, parental relocations, and what used to be known as child custody mean that a period of transition is just beginning, one that will likely last for a number of years. Child support, however, was not really addressed in this year’s updates, though the legislature did indicate that it may take up the issue in the near future.

Percentage of Obligor’s Income

In Illinois, most orders of child support require a parent who does not have the majority of the parenting time with his or her child-formerly the non-custodial parent-to make payments to the other parent. The payments are intended to help the parent with primary residential responsibilities to provide the child with basic necessities, including shelter, food, and clothing. The existing law provides a basic guideline for determining the amount to be paid as a function of the supporting parent’s net income and the number of children to be supported. A supporting parent is expected to pay 20 percent of his or her income for one child, up to 50 percent for six or more children. Deviations from the standard are permitted, and must be based on the courts consideration of the family’s circumstances.

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 Posted on January 11, 2016 in Forgery

When an act of forgery involves money in someway, the crime is generally characterized as a white collar crime. According to 720 ILCS 5/17-3, forgery occurs when a person knowingly, with the intent to defraud someone else, makes a false document, object or statistic, or alters any of these to make them false. The forgery must be capable of defrauding another individual. Simply supplying a document that you know to be false can be considered forgery, as can merely having a forged document in your possession, with the intent to defraud another.

Forgeries can take many forms. Some of the most common examples of forgery include:

Identity Theft

Forged documents are commonly used in identity theft cases. One person poses as another by misrepresenting their identity, which can be as simple as filling out a form as if you were someone else, or manufacturing a fake passport or driver’s license with your photo, but someone else’s personal identification information. These crimes often arise when a person tries to take out a line of credit or obtain a credit card with personal identification information that has been misappropriated or stolen.

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