Reuters 7:35 a.m. CST, January 31, 2012
A restaurant workers group said it will sue Darden Restaurants Inc. in federal court in Chicago on Tuesday, accusing the company’s high-end Capital Grille steakhouse chain of racial discrimination and violations of state and federal labor laws.

The action will pit Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, a vocal advocate on industry wages and working conditions, against one of the largest and most respected U.S. restaurant companies.

The lawsuit will charge that white workers have lucrative “front-of-house” positions such as waiter or bartender, while many lower paying “back-of-the-house” jobs like washing dishes or preparing food are given to people of color, said ROC, which will bring the lawsuit on behalf of members who are Capital Grille employees in Chicago, New York City and Washington, D.C.

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Posted by Ryan Lizza

Today, I’m posting a memo to the President that includes Barack Obama’s handwritten decision at the end of the document. The memo—one of several I obtained for a piece in this week’s New Yorker—was sent to Obama on July 1, 2009, and came back from the Oval Office the following day.

The title of the memo is “Information on Medical Malpractice Reform Options,” and it was sent to Obama by two of his aides: Nancy-Ann DeParle, who was at the time running the White House Office of Health Reform and is now one of Obama’s deputy chiefs of staff; and Susan Sher, a health-care adviser and longtime friend of Michelle Obama who had been promoted to chief of staff to the First Lady a month before this memo was written. (Sher has since departed the White House and returned to Chicago.)

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A 78-year-old attorney apparently leaped to his death this morning from his office building across the street from City Hall in the Loop, authorities said.

The man, whose name was not immediately available, was dead on the scene this morning at 111 W. Washington St., according to a spokesman for the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office.

A witness heard glass breaking and then saw the man jump out a window about 7:40 a.m., according to police, who said the attorney worked at the Washington Street address.

Man plunges from Loop office building

Mother says her daughter’s life would have been saved if building had sprinklers, proper elevators
January 19, 2012

The mother of a woman who was killed in a North Lake Shore Drive high-rise fire this month has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the owners and managers of the building.

The lawsuit by JoAnn McCoy maintains that her daughter, Shantel, 32, would still be alive if the building had elevators that shut down during such a fire.

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Stephon Watts was shot twice by officers in his Calumet City home on Wednesday

An outraged community gathered Thursday evening to protest the death of 15-year-old Stephon Watts, shot dead in his own home by Calumet City police officers a day earlier.

About 75 to 100 people, family members and civic and religious leaders, gathered outside the Calumet City Police Department headquarters, at 1200 Pulaski Road in the far south suburb, to protest officers’ actions.

“The one thing that we look for our police to do is serve and protect,” said Alicia Murchison, one of the protesters who said she is also the mother of an autistic child. “To think of this is just unjustifiable.”

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New coalition works to get abuses reported By Tabitha Hurley and Ashley Huntington One out of 4 undergraduate women will be sexually assaulted before they graduate, according to a 2010 Rape Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) study. The study … Continue reading →

In an apparent race to the courthouse, the first U.S. lawsuit has been filed based on the Jan. 13 disaster off the coast of Tuscany. Surprisingly, the named plaintiff is a crewmember, rather than a passenger, who is a resident … Continue reading →

Mike BryantAttorney (866) 735-1102 Ext 555Posted by Mike BryantJanuary 26, 2012 This month, we will be looking at the issue of what claims are available in a Minnesota collision. We have used real examples from stories in the recent news … Continue reading →

A suburban Chicago man is recovering at a local hospital after accidentally shooting himself with a nail gun – and not noticing the 3 ½ inch nail lodged in his brain for more than 24 hours. Dante Autullo, 32, was … Continue reading →

CASSOPOLIS — Weekend snowmobile crashes in Pokagon and Howard townships injured three people. • Cass County Sheriff Joseph M. Underwood Jr. reports that, on Sunday, his office investiaged a personal-injury snowmobile crash that occurred on the snowmobile trails near the … Continue reading →

The parents of a Chicago teenager who police said was killed after another Chicago teen punched him at an Indiana beach July 4 filed a wrongful death lawsuit Wednesday against the teen accused of throwing the punch, his sister and … Continue reading →

CHICAGO, Jan 13, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Corboy & Demetrio has secured a $2 million settlement on behalf of a Chicago woman who was hit by a garbage truck in the city’s River North neighborhood. The truck was driven by … Continue reading →

CHICAGO — The Illinois Department of Transportation today unveiled the Illinois Yellow Dot program, a life-saving, traffic safety initiative that provides first responders with critical information to improve emergency care for persons involved in vehicle crashes. IDOT along with the … Continue reading →

BY KATY NIELSEN JAN 10, 2012 In a hot, sticky and steamy room men and women twist into yoga poses, sweat dripping from the ends of their noses. But the air conditioner isn’t broken — it’s January. This is a … Continue reading →

January 6, 2012 Nicole Howley Chicago, IL — The owner of two pit bulls is facing fines after his dogs attacked a lakefront jogger at Rainbow Beach Park, before the dogs were shot by a Chicago police officer on Monday, … Continue reading →

New coalition works to get abuses reported
By Tabitha Hurley and Ashley Huntington

One out of 4 undergraduate women will be sexually assaulted before they graduate, according to a 2010 Rape Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) study. The study also found that 1 in every 6 American women will be sexually assaulted at some point during their lives.

Few reports of sex crimes on college campuses show up in media reports, however, and even fewer are prosecuted by the law. Despite the high number of women who are sexually assaulted while in college, studies estimate that 60 percent of rape and sexual assault cases are never reported to police or campus authorities. Even more alarming is the fact that of those sex crimes that are reported, RAINN has shown that there is only a 50.8 percent chance that an arrest will be made.

DePaul has a “no gray-area” policy regarding sexual assault, meaning sex that involves any amount of coercion, intimidation, force or anything that renders a victim unable to give consent is considered sexual assault, according to the Office of Sexual Violence Support Services.

Taking aim at college sex crimes

In an apparent race to the courthouse, the first U.S. lawsuit has been filed based on the Jan. 13 disaster off the coast of Tuscany. Surprisingly, the named plaintiff is a crewmember, rather than a passenger, who is a resident of Lima, Peru, rather than of the United States. The case also seems oblivious to the substantial legal hurdles that lawyers around the world have been pondering for more than two weeks.

The suit, filed Jan. 26 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois by Chicago personal injury lawyers Ribbeck Lawchartered, is a class action by Gary Lobatan on behalf of at least 4,200 passengers and crewmembers on board the Costa Concordia when it went aground near Giglio, Italy. It does not mention the survivors of the 17 who have been confirmed dead (another 16 are still missing). Carnival Corporation and its subsidiary, Costa Crociere, are both named defendants.

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1/4/2012 1:53 PM By Ann Maher A Madison County personal injury lawsuit involving a dead mouse and a can of Mountain Dew has drawn international headlines. Since yesterday, nearly 100 news outlets have picked up on plaintiff Ronald Ball’s lawsuit … Continue reading →

Winter slip and fall claims in Illinois could depend on whether the dangerous condition was naturally or unnaturally accumulated. December 30, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ — For the people of the Midwest, the change of seasons, from fall to winter, means the … Continue reading →

Mike BryantAttorney (866) 735-1102 Ext 555Posted by Mike BryantJanuary 26, 2012
This month, we will be looking at the issue of what claims are available in a Minnesota collision. We have used real examples from stories in the recent news as a basis for the discussion. What claims are available is not always obvious and a very good reason why you should take advantage of meeting with an experienced personal injury lawyer to understand all of your coverages. The insurance company may seem to be treating you correctly, but they don’t represent you. They also are not lawyers, so don’t take your legal advice from them.

Wrong way driver on I-94 causes head-on collision. Each person injured will be able to get their medical bills paid for under their own no fault policy. The reason for why the person was on the wrong side of the road will be important. Were they drinking and does there need to be a dram shop investigation? What, if anything, could the other driver do to have avoided the collision?

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