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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 Posted on September 20, 2017 in Personal Injury

If you are seriously injured in a motorcycle accident in DuPage County, who is liable for your injuries? The answer to that question depends upon many different factors, such as the type of accident and how and when the motorcycle accident occurred.

Often, motorcycle accidents are caused by another motorist’s negligence. For instance, a passenger car driver might have been distracted and failed to notice a motorcyclist in his blind spot. Or, for example, a truck driver might not have gotten enough sleep the previous night and caused a drowsy driving accident.

In most scenarios like these, it may seem obvious that the other driver is at fault. But what happens if the motorcyclist sustained head injuries that could have been avoided if he had worn a helmet?

Understanding the Importance of Motorcycle Helmets in DuPage County

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 Posted on September 19, 2017 in Family Law

Uncontested divorces, or those in which the parties believe they can reach an agreement on the details of their divorce, might seem simple and straightforward. However, there are numerous challenges and obstacles that can quickly take a divorce from an amicable situation into a contentious one. As such, divorcing parties are encouraged to seek legal support, even if they plan to pursue an uncontested divorce. Learn why, and discover where you can find the assistance that you deserve, with help from the following information.

Asset and Property Division

Couples that are pursuing an uncontested divorce might assume that assets and property are split evenly between them. However, Illinois is an equitable distribution state, which means the estate is divided “fairly.” Of course, the term "fair" can mean different things to different people, which is why this issue is one of the most common reasons that amicable divorces turn contentious.

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 Posted on September 12, 2017 in Personal Injury

Now that September is here, children in and around Chicago are returning to school. This means that drivers throughout DuPage County will be sharing the road with school buses and young pedestrians who are walking home from school or home from the bus stop. When drivers fail to take precautions near school zones, serious car accidents can happen.

It is extremely important for automobile drivers to be careful in any areas where children might be present and to know the laws surrounding passenger vehicles and school buses.

Millions of Kids Returning to School: What Do You Need to Know About Accident Risks?

According to a fact sheet from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, about 55 million American kids go to K-12 schools, and about 13 percent of those children either walk or ride bikes. That number does not include the millions of kids who rely on school buses for transportation and walk home from bus stops.

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 Posted on September 12, 2017 in Immigration

The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act has been proposed in Congress several times before 2017, with the most recent being 2011 (though in 2012 President Obama directed his administration to use the criteria contained in the DREAM Act in determining whether or not to deport young undocumented people). On July 20, 2017, it was introduced again, by Sens. Lindsey Graham and Dick Durbin, in a bipartisan initiative, and in a slightly different format than previously proposed.

The Bill

Graham and Durbin, both members of the “Gang of 8” that authored a comprehensive immigration reform bill in 2013 yet never made it out of committee, have made it clear that they believe the best way forward is to explore extending Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) status to Dreamers (the young people who would be affected by the passage of such a law).

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 Posted on September 12, 2017 in Family Law

Learning that the other parent of your child wants to relocate is a lot like a punch in the gut. Your child, whom you may only see part of the time, could move, perhaps hundreds of miles away. If the relocation is a success, you know that you will see your child less often. The after-school stops for ice cream will end. There will be no more pickups from dance class when your ex-partner is stuck at work. Thankfully, you can attempt to stop a child relocation before it happens. The following information explains further.

An Overview of the Relocation Process

Unless the other parent will be moving a short distance (limits are based on state and county laws), they must notify you, in writing, of their desire to move. Included in their notice should be information on when they intend to relocate, the address to which they are planning to relocate, and the duration of the relocation (some may be temporary). That notice is also filed with the court clerk. If you consent to the move, you can file a response letter with the court, giving the other parent permission to relocate. If you do not consent, you can contest the move, which places the decision in the hands of the court.

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 Posted on September 06, 2017 in Family Law

In divorce, it is not just the assets that are divided. Instead, divorcing couples must also split their debts. With more than 44 million student loan borrowers in the United States, all with a total debt of about $1.4 trillion, you can be sure that, in at least some divorces, there is a distribution of student loan debts. When and how does this happen? How might it impact your Illinois divorce? The following explains, and it provides details on where to find assistance with your case.

Marital versus Non-Marital Student Loan Debt

Like with assets, distribution of debt typically only debts that were acquired during the marriage. As such, student loans that were obtained before marriage are likely to be excluded from the marital estate. It is important to note, however, that student loan debt does not automatically become a part of the marital estate, just because the debt was incurred over the course of the marriage. Instead, there are several factors that may be used to determine whether the student loan debt is a part of the marital estate. These factors include:

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 Posted on September 05, 2017 in Personal Injury

When we think about pedestrian accidents involving a person’s distraction, we often think about distracted driving and make assumptions about a motorist’s behavior behind the wheel. However, as a fact sheet from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) highlights, distracted walking is a problem, too. To be sure, distracted walking may be a factor in pedestrian accidents involving motor vehicles.

What are the facts you need to know about distracted walking? And when might a jury hold a distracted pedestrian liable for a car accident?

Getting the Facts About Distracted Walking and Auto Accidents

Distracted walking can take many forms, such as talking on a cell phone, texting while walking, listening to music on a smartphone or other mp3 player, or even engaging in conversation with another person. According to Alan Hilibrand, the chair of the AAOS Communications Cabinet an increasing number of people "are falling down stairs, tripping over curbs and other streetscapes and, in many instances, stepping into traffic, causing cuts, bruises, sprains, and fractures.”

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 Posted on September 05, 2017 in Immigration

Not content with arresting nearly 40 percent more immigrants on average since the new administration took office, in July 2017 the Department of Homeland Security and the White House began to investigate the possibility of expanding expedited removals, which would significantly alter the immigration landscape in the United States for a multitude of reasons.

The move would not be without controversy at a political level, but immigrant rights groups are incensed at what they argue would be a near-unlimited authority to arrest anyone without status, regardless of potential extenuating circumstances.

If you are undocumented, being conversant with the nitty-gritty details of the law may at least make your next steps more clear.

History of Expedited Removal

Expedited removal is a process that came into being in 1996, under the Illegal Immigration Reform & Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA). For its first few years, it was used almost exclusively at the border, only expanding in 2004 when George W. Bush signed orders permitting the procedure’s use within 100 miles of any border. The law also states explicitly that it is to be used only on ‘arriving aliens,’ rather than people who have been in the United States for some time already.

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