LJC In The News

Chicago Daily Law Bulletin

Caregivers Sue to Block Union Bond

November 11, 2015

(Chicago Daily Law Bulletin)—Six caregivers filed a lawsuit today accusing the state of Illinois of trampling on their First Amendment rights by requiring them to accept union representation against their will.The state is violating their rights to free association and to petition the government by granting a particular union —...

Motherboard Vice

Inside the Legal Challenge to Chicago’s 9 Percent Netflix Tax

September 15, 2015

(Motherboard Vice)—The city of Chicago has little to do with how its residents stream Netflix, Hulu, or Spotify, play Xbox Live, or use Amazon Prime. So why are its residents paying the city a 9 percent tax to use those services? A newly filed lawsuit may help determine whether cities...

Fortune

Netflix and Amazon Users Sue to Stop Chicago’s 9% Streaming Tax

September 14, 2015

(Fortune)—It’s on. Subscribers to popular streaming services, including XBox Live and Spotify, have filed a lawsuit that claims the city of Chicago’s controversial tax policy on digital entertainment is illegal. The challenge to the tax policy, filed last week in Cook County state court, is important because it could help...

Daily Mail

City of Chicago Sued for ‘Trying to Sneak in’ a Nine Per Cent ‘Netflix Tax’ on Streaming Websites including Spotify and Amazon Prime

September 12, 2015

(Daily Mail)—The City of Chicago is being sued for allegedly attempting to sneak in a nine per cent ‘amusement tax’ on streaming sites like Netflix, Spotify and Amazon Prime. A lawsuit filed against the Illinois city claims it had no legal right to bring in the levy which could lead...

Hollywood Reporter

Chicago’s Tax of Netflix, Spotify Subscriptions Challenged in Court

September 11, 2015

(Hollywood Reporter)—Legal group says city can’t levy Netflix’s video streaming service if the tax does not apply to the video-by-mail service. The City of Chicago’s recent move to extend its 9 percent “amusement tax” to streaming services is an abuse of authority, claims the Liberty Justice Center in a lawsuit...

Fox News

Unions Battle for Survival in Key Strongholds as Court Cases Challenge Forced Dues

May 2, 2015

(Fox News)—The future of public and private unions in two big labor-friendly states may be at stake as foes mount aggressive legal challenges over the long-controversial practice of mandatory dues. The court cases in Illinois and California revolve around so-called “fair share” payments, or the dues unions extract from workers...

My Suburban Life

Looking Back at Downers Grove’s Biggest Stories in 2014

December 29, 2014

(My Suburban Life)—What happened: The village is enforcing a new sign ordinance after a nine-year grace period. The ordinance only allows business signs to face driveable right-of-ways, like roads, and not train tracks, like the Metra/BNSF line. The ordinance also doesn’t allow painted wall signs outside downtown. Robert Peterson’s Leibundguth...

WTVP

At Issue: Money and Politics

April 17, 2014

(WTVP)—On the April 17, 2014 edition of Peoria PBS station WTVP’s At Issue, LJC’s Jacob Huebert debated David Melton of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform on whether the government should limit contributions to political campaigns.

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Pantagraph

City to Change Party Bus, Taxi Regulations after Judge’s Ruling

September 4, 2013

(Pantagraph)—The city will look to change its rules for licensing party buses and other vehicles for hire rather than appeal a judge’s ruling last week that its current rules are unconstitutional. The city also will grant Julie Crowe the right to operate her late-night shuttle business if she provides proof...

Pantagraph

City’s Rules for Licensing Vehicles-for-Hire Ruled Unconstitutional

August 30, 2013

(Pantagraph)—The city’s rules for licensing vehicles-for-hire is unconstitutional and the city violated a shuttle owner’s rights when it denied her a chance to run her business, a McLean County judge has ruled. Julie Crowe sued the city in February 2012 after she was denied a a “certificate of convenience” that...

Grub Street

Doughnuts Fight City Hall – in Evanston

August 9, 2012

(Grub Street)—Evanston has generally seemed more hospitable to food trucks than Chicago— Evanston’s HummingBird Kitchen was the one truck that could run around actually cooking on board before the passage of the new Chicago food truck ordinance. But Evanston has its own quirky protectionist rules— and now one food truck...

NBC 5 Chicago

Evanston Law Spurs Food Fight

August 7, 2012

(NBC 5 Chicago)—Mobile restaurant owners have hit a road block in Evanston. Instead of putting on the breaks, two mobile food truck owners are heading full force into a political food fight as the Liberty Justice Center, a public interest litigation center, sues the City of Evanston for not allowing...