The Illinois Supreme Court upheld a lower court's ruling allowing for a new hearing for a man convicted of a 1982 rape who long claimed his confession was physically coerced from him by former Chicago Police Lt. Jon Burge. more ›

Peterson's trial was to have begun 14 months ago when Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow appealed a judge's decision to bar statements made by Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio, Glasgow believes are essential. more ›

The Illinois Supreme Court did Gov. Quinn a solid today, upholding the $31 billion construction bill and the series of taxes to fund it. more ›

As expected, Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed a motion with the Illinois Supreme Court yesterday asking for a stay on the ruling from an appellate court that put a halt to the state's $31 billion public works program. more ›

Throughout this saga regarding Rahm Emanuel's residency, the question has been a matter of interpretation of the law. Emanuel and his attorneys argued that, even though he rented out his Ravenswood home, he still intended to move back; still maintained an Illinois drivers license; still had a checking account; still paid property taxes on the home and still maintained his voter registration in Illinois. Those objecting to Emanuel's candidacy argued for a narrower, more orthodox interpretation of the residency rule: he didn't live there for the past year, so he can't run. Intent versus actuality. Obviously, the state Supreme Court sided with Emanuel yesterday and put him back on the ballot. And that's as it should be. That wasn't surprising. What was was the majority opinion authored by Justice Bob Thomas, which was dismissive of the Illinois Appellate Court's decision Monday to remove Emanuel from the ballot. It was an unctuous and rude opinion that caused Justices Anne Burke and Charles Freeman to write their own special opinion on the case, while still siding for Emanuel. Speaking of Burke, so much for that perceived conflict of interest, eh? more ›

The Illinois Supreme Court voted unanimously to keep Rahm Emanuel on next month's mayoral ballot, reversing Monday's Appellate Court decision to toss him from the ballot. Read the decision here. more ›

"Aren't we beyond that? Women have minds of their own. We have spouses in every kind of business." more ›

The ongoing saga regarding Rahm Emanuel and his residency issues received the attention of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart last night. Look past the obvious references to Emanuel's demeanor and see how Stewart and John Oliver distill the fight for Emanuel's place on the ballot to its essence. more ›

The Sun-Times is reporting that the Illinois Supreme Court has ordered the Chicago Board of Elections to put Rahm Emanuel's name back on the ballot for next month's mayoral election. They've not yet decided to hear Emanuel's appeal of yesterday's Illinois Appellate Court's decision to toss Rahm off the ballot, but his attorney Mike Kaspar cited heavily from the scathing dissenting opinion of Judge Bertina Lampkins in the successful motion that granted the stay. more ›

The Rahm Emanuel campaign has announced a rally for 5 p.m. at the Chicago Board Options Exchange of Elections to protest the Illinois Appellate Court's decision to have him tossed from the ballot. more ›

When you're looking at the ballot on Nov. 2 you'll see a lot of unfamiliar names that were never mentioned by the media. Those candidates are judges, and Illinois judges are the second highest paid in the country. more ›

Given the current weather, it seems strange to be thinking about snow but a new ruling today puts snow front and center. The Illinois Supreme Court ruled today that it's not the CTA's responsibility to remove ice and snow from train platforms. The problem: the court didn't specify whose responsibility it is. Surely it couldn't be the responsibility of the plaintiff of the case, Marianna Krywin, who was 71 back in January 2005 when she exited a Red Line train at Sheridan and slipped on snow and ice on the platform and fell, injuring her left leg. more ›

Tort reform is repeatedly put forth by Republicans as part of the solution to the health care problems in this country. But the question of whether or not that would actually work to lower health care costs might soon be moot, as the Illinois Supreme Court ruled today that a current medical malpractice cap law is unconstitutional. more ›

The Daily Herald recently took a look at a case being reviewed by the Illinois Supreme Court that has people bristling about soon finding their Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights violated. The issue at hand? Whether or not the smells in your car amount to personal property and are therefore protected against unreasonable search and seizures. more ›

The ongoing drama to appoint The Lord's Senate Appointee™ Roland Burris as the junior senator from Illinois may finally be resolved this week. Burris has stayed behind in Chicago while his attorneys have traveled to Washington, D.C. to clear up the "paperwork issue" that has prevented Burris from officially being seated. While senior Illinois senator Dick Durbin said it's likely Burris would be seated this week, with a decision possibly by this afternoon, but he also added, "This thing changes by the day." Well, that's the kind of certainty we like to hear from our elected officials. On yesterday's edition of CBS's Face The Nation, Durbin tried to put to rest rumors of efforts by members of the Senate to delay the appointment until Gov. Blaogjevich's impeachment trial concluded with a possible removal from office, thereby allowing an appointment by Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn. Said Durbin, "To wait until Gov. Blagojevich is removed could be a matter of weeks. I think Roland Burris' future and fate will be decided before then." more ›

The Illinois Supreme Court has rejected Roland Burris's writ of mandamus to force Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White to sign paperwork making Burris's appointment to the U.S. Senate official. While U.S. Senate leaders have said the lack of a signature is the reason they won't seat Burris, White himself has already said that his refusal to sign is purely symbolic and not legally required. The State Supreme Court agreed.

Because the secretary of state had no duty ... to sign and affix the state seal to the document issued by the governor appointing Roland Burris to the United States Senate, petitioners are not entitled to an order from this court requiring the secretary to perform those acts. Under the secretary of state act, the secretary's sole responsibility was to register the appointment, which he did.

AP Photo/Paul Beaty