Facing criminal charges is a serious matter, with the potential to impact your life in dramatic ways. Criminal charges can remain on your record, damaging your reputation and preventing you from getting a job, being eligible for student loans or mortgages, or engaging in activities you enjoy, such as volunteering or working in the community. In addition, if convicted of your charges you may be looking at heavy fines and potential jail time. All of this can be a high...

There are many reasons that good, honest people can end up facing criminal charges. Otherwise law abiding citizens are often at a loss to understand how the legal system works and what their rights are in it. The shock of being charged with a crime and coming to grips with the actual and potential ramifications of facing charges can be overwhelming. The result sometimes is that people do nothing, putting their trust in the court system to defend their rights...

Grandparents often play a crucial in the care and development of their grandchildren, but their rights in terms of being involved in the lives of these children have been historically underrepresented in the courts. In terms of family law, public awareness of the roles held by grandparents in family court cases has increased in recent years. On January 1, 2016, new laws have gone into effect that help to protect and support those rights. For grandparents throughout the state, this...

The new year brought sweeping changes that will undoubtedly affect the lives of many Illinois residents. In all, over 237 laws were changed and rewritten in 2015 with changes taking effect on January 1, 2016. Some of the biggest changes occurred in rewrites of the state family law statutes. These changes made headlines throughout the state. Some of the more extensive rewrites were made to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, which governs divorce. As of the beginning...