CBA Record January-February 2020

Highlights of the 2019 Legislative Year By Juli Vyverberg, Director, CBA Lawyer Referral Service and Legislative Program

Public Construction Bond Act to permit recovery for rental charges, similar to the Illinois Mechanic’s Lien Act. Specifically, the amendment adds the terms “mate- rial, labor, apparatus and fixtures and machinery” to the list of items furnished on a public construction project exceeding $50,000, and for which a bond is required. Drafted by: Real Property Committee (Mechanics Lien and Construction Law Subcommittee)

Three bills were drafted by CBA substan- tive law committees, reviewed by the Legislative Committee, and approved by the Board of Managers to be included in the CBA’s 2019 Legislative Program of the 101th General Assembly (GA). These proposals for sponsored legislation should not be confused with the non-sponsored legislation that the CBA tracks. Non-spon- sored legislation includes bills introduced in the State Senate and House by sitting legislators that are deemed to be of special interest to the CBA’s constituency and the legal profession in general. In the 2019 Session, the Legislative Committee, chaired by Ben Orzeske, reviewed more than 100 pieces of non- sponsored legislation and recommended positions on 50-plus bills that were adopted by the Board of Managers. The CBA’s legislative counsel, Larry Suffredin and Tom Suffredin, helped implement the Association’s legislative program and worked closely with the legislative liaisons for each of the CBA Practice Commit- tees. The CBA’s three sponsored bills are detailed below: HB 1471 (A. Williams, Munroe, McDermed, Maz- zochi) Creates the Illinois Trust Code (ITC), an Illinois version of the Uniform Trust Code. It is intended to modernize trust law in Illinois, codify common law concepts that currently apply to trusts, and provide uniformity in relation to trust law in other states. It sets forth manda-

tory requirements and provisions of the ITC that prevail, and changes the duties of trustees and the responsibilities of representatives. It repeals the Trusts and Trustees Act, the Trusts and Dissolutions of Marriage Act, the Uniform Powers of Appointment Act; the Statute Concerning Perpetuities, the Perpetuities Vesting Act, and the Trust Accumulation Act. Effective January 1, 2020. Drafted with assistance from: Trust Law Committee HB 2722 (Fine, Sims) Amends the Code of Civil Procedure by editing the “prayer of relief ” language in an effort to make the court systemmore understandable to the public. Except in personal injury cases, “every count in every complaint and counter- claim must request specific remedies the party believes they should receive from the court.” The law also changes the “ad damnum” language in an order to simplify the archaic and confusing wording. In personal injury actions, “if a complaint is filed that contains an amount claimed and the claim is not necessary to comply with the circuit court rules about where a case is assigned, the complaint shall be dismissed without prejudice…”. Drafted by: Legal Aid Committee HB 2722 (Gong-Gershowitz) Amends the Public Construction Bond Act. This law adds language to Sections 1 and 2 of the Illinois

If you have questions or comments regard- ing the CBA’s legislative program, please contact Juli Vyverberg at 312-554-2062 or jvyverberg@chicagobar.org.

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