Posted on October 12, 2017 in Immigration

Chicago is still a sanctuary city, and will remain so for the foreseeable future, according to Mayor Rahm Emanuel. However, this decision has not come without comment. The U.S. Attorney General has been highly critical of Chicago’s leadership, seeing fit to draw conclusions about the city’s crime rate versus that of Miami, ascribing the difference solely to Miami-Dade’s capitulation to the Justice Department’s request to honor immigration detainers. In what may be seen as a reaction to such talk, Gov. Bruce Rauner may be poised to sign off on the Trust Act, which could have a small but significant effect on Illinois’ immigrant population.

Is Chicago a Sanctuary City?

While there has been much ink spilled about what a true sanctuary city is, the term of art as it is understood is solely defined as a city which does not comply with federal immigration detainers. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) sends “detainers” to local police departments when they hear of someone they believe should be detained due to their immigration status. In most cities, local police comply with these “detainers,” holding the person for longer than they would otherwise be constitutionally authorized to do.

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 Posted on October 12, 2017 in Personal Injury

Many DuPage County residents know how dangerous and often deadly a collision with a large truck can be. Truck accidents happen more often than they should. Whether you regularly commute to work in Chicago and share I-88 or I-290 with semi-trucks transporting goods across the country, or if you are simply headed to a retail establishment at Oakbrook Center, you know that big rigs are much larger and heavier than passenger cars. To be sure, large trucks can cause devastating damage when they collide with smaller passenger vehicles.

According to a recent study conducted by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, if more 18-wheelers were equipped with safety technology, we could prevent more than 60,000 crashes annually.

Large Truck Collisions Are On the Rise

The study begins from a significant data point: large truck accidents are on the rise. Between 2014 and 2015, semi-truck crashes increased by 4 percent. While that number might not sound noteworthy, it means that numbers rose to 400,000 crashes in 2015 that led to 4,000 fatalities and 116,000 nonfatal injuries.

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 Posted on October 10, 2017 in Family Law

Once the decision to divorce has been made, parties often start to wonder how they will fare financially. After all, money is one of the most common reasons for contention in divorce. Contention is not the only issue that may impact a divorce settlement though. In fact, there are many potential pitfalls that can have a financial impact on one or both divorcing parties. Learn what they are and how you can avoid them by examining the following financial mistakes commonly made in a divorce.

Underestimating the Potential Impact

Divorce is a lot like a business transaction, and like all business transactions, it is inherently complex. Factors that determine the division of debts and assets are applied differently from one case to the next, based on the couple's particular situation, and that can leave one party at risk for a significant financial depletion. In fact, one study found that baby boomers, who are currently divorcing at an unprecedented rate, saw a 77 percent reduction in wealth after divorce. Add in the potential for asset depletion, asset hiding, and revengeful spending and it becomes clear just how crucial it is that one fully understands the financial risks and implications of divorce - so underestimate it at your own risk.

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 Posted on October 05, 2017 in Personal Injury

When your teen starts talking with you about driving and obtaining a license in DuPage County, what do you need to know in order to help your child remain safe on the road? Specifically, what role do parents play in preventing teen car accidents?

It is important to understand the hazards of teen driving and to take steps to prevent a car crash, whether your teenager has access to an automobile or asks to ride as a passenger in a vehicle with another teen driver.

Consider the following facts and figures with regard too teen driving accidents, as well tips for parents whose teens are just beginning to drive.

Getting the Facts About Teen Car Crashes

Did you know that motor vehicle crashes are currently the leading cause of death for teens in the United States? According to a fact sheet from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately six teenagers sustain fatal injuries everyday, on average, as a result of a traffic collision. Indeed, teen drivers between the ages of 16 and 19 are “nearly three times more likely than drivers aged 20 and older to be in a fatal crash.”

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 Posted on October 05, 2017 in Immigration

Since late January 2017, various iterations of an executive order on immigration have been in force at all U.S. ports of entry, but have seen the most controversy at airports. The most recent permutation as of this writing, after input from the Supreme Court in the form of an unsigned opinion, excludes non-citizen nationals from seven majority Muslim countries—Iraq, Iran, Libya, Sudan, Somalia, Syria and Yemen—unless they can prove a “bona fide relationship” to any “person or entity” in the United States.

However, the opinion does not define such a standard, which means that the definition is largely being left up to immigration personnel on the ground. This can cause problems for travelers, even if you are not a national of one of the seven countries on the president’s “list.”

Initial Detention

When someone is stopped upon deplaning, he or she may merely be detained a couple of minutes, or he or she may be placed into what Customs & Border Patrol (CBP) euphemistically calls secondary screening. At either level, you may be questioned by CBP, or by personnel from a host of different agencies, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) or Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE).

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 Posted on October 02, 2017 in Family Law

Thanks to technology, people can now find the answer to almost any question in the world within just a matter of seconds. They can connect with family and friends from around the world. Interested persons can even learn how to rewire their own house or file for their own divorce – but is having such knowledge at one’s fingertips always a good thing? In the case of divorce and electrical work, perhaps not.

Divorce is a Complex Process

Although DIY divorce options may try to convince you that the process is as simple as filling out the forms and filing them with the courts, nothing could be further from the truth. No two marriages or divorces are ever the same, nor should they be treated as such. Furthermore, laws vary by state, and not all DIY divorce options offer state-specific advice or information – and unfortunately, that can make divorce a far bigger and complicated mess than it would have been with appropriate legal assistance.

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 Posted on September 27, 2017 in Family Law

Divorce has always been a potentially damaging process – especially for children. However, things have started to shift in family law over the last several years. More families are working together to ensure the health, happiness, and well-being of their children, even while they are going through the painful process of divorce. Known as the “child-centered divorce,” this phenomenon has even prompted some interesting trends, such as birds nest parenting and post-divorce selfies. If you would like to learn more about keeping your child at the center of your divorce, the following strategies can help.

Consider Your Timing Carefully

While there are situations that may dictate when you start the divorce process (i.e. domestic violence, etc.), most couples have the power to choose when they will begin. For those that have children, the timing should be considered carefully. Parents are encouraged to avoid divorce around the holidays and birthdays, during major family events, or when significant change is expected to occur. For example, if the child is about to start preschool, it may not be the best time to file. Instead, parents may wish to wait until their child has adjusted to their new school schedule to ensure they are ready and able to deal with the divorce.

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 Posted on September 26, 2017 in Immigration

On August 2, 2017, the current administration unveiled a plan designed to convert the existing U.S. immigration system into a skill or merit-based structure, which would drastically curb documented immigration (as opposed to undocumented). While on paper, the plan merely appears to suggest mere procedural changes, conservative estimates show it would lead to a drop of approximately 50 percent in immigration overall, especially among those from non-English-speaking countries.

Uninformed pundits have been characterizing this as a positive, arguing that other immigrants will receive faster service than they would otherwise, and no one “undeserving” will be able to jump the proverbial queue. In reality, this is simply not how the U.S. immigration system works, and clearing up misconceptions like this can actually work in everyone’s favor—even citizens’.

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 Posted on September 26, 2017 in Personal Injury

Drivers in DuPage County and throughout Illinois are banned from using handheld electronic communication devices on the road (625 ILCS 5/12-610.2). However, a study conducted earlier this year suggests that a large percentage of Illinois car accidents continue to happen as a result of distracted driving and cellphones use.

To be sure, according to an article in the chtribune, about 25 percent of drivers involved in a crash were on their phones immediately before the collision occurred. In other words, drivers are breaking the law concerning handheld cellphone use, and they may be causing traffic accidents.

Understanding Illinois Cellphone Ban

Under Illinois law, a driver is prohibited from using a handheld electronic device behind the wheel, including cellphones, iPads, and laptops. The ban is designed primarily to prevent distracted driving, which is often caused by talking, texting, or surfing the internet on a smartphone.

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 Posted on September 20, 2017 in Immigration

In 2014, the United States experienced a surge of immigrants from Central and South America appearing seemingly en masse at its southern border. Many were deported upon encountering Customs & Border Patrol (CBP), but many were able to assert a claim of credible fear—they stated their intent to apply for asylum in the United States.

Due to the immigration backlog in U.S. courts, many of these cases are just now coming up for review. However, a large portion of the asylum seekers have not appeared, and have been ordered removed in absentia.

While it may seem smart to not appear in court lest you be arrested, it is absolutely not the right choice to make. Failing to appear can actually make matters even worse for you.

The Normal Asylum Process

In a standard defensive asylum case (which is what most asylum seekers mount, as opposed to an affirmative asylum request where one turns oneself in to CBP), the applicant appears before an immigration judge with all the relevant information and pleads his or her case, usually alone, sometimes with an attorney (since immigration cases are administrative in nature, rather than criminal, the government is not required to furnish an attorney for the applicant). If his or her application for asylum is approved, then he or she is granted lawful permanent resident status, with his or her green card appearing in the mail later on.

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