Resources

By Attorney Sarah Albert | If you've been a renter in the City of Chicago for some time, you may have noticed a trend: landlords are more inclined to take a one-time, nonrefundable move-in fee from you in lieu of a security deposit. Why does that matter? Your rights to that money, and your landlor...

By Attorney Adrienne Finucane | If you receive, or have recently received, a letter (entitled “Determination”) from the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) stating that you are ineligible for unemployment, do not ignore it – even if you are no longer receiving or attempting to apply ...

By Attorney Angie Reed | In Illinois, many people get denied when applying for their Firearm Identification (FOID) card. Most of the time, this denial happens because of a criminal conviction. Other times, a denial can happen because of previous admissions for mental health treatment or because a ...

By Attorney Conor Grealish | When a condominium owner's condo is damaged, it can be a nightmare figuring out who is responsible for making those repairs. Some homeowner associations (“HOA”) offer little to no assistance for the suffering owner or refuse to take responsibility for repairs hiding be...

By Attorney Megan DeDoncker | Pet ownership skyrocketed during the global Covid-19 pandemic, with nearly 1 in 5 households adopting a new cat or dog.[1] While many households grew by four paws during the pandemic, relationship conflict and divorce inquiries were also on the rise.[2] As pet owners k...

By Attorney Bradley Fuller | On May 11, 2023, the COVID-19 National Emergency, first declared by President Donald Trump in the spring of 2020, will come to an end.  The conclusion of this emergency period is particularly relevant to people incarcerated in federal facilities seeking release from pri...

By Attorney Bailey Weiland |  When dealing with a difficult or unreasonable landlord, it can be tempting for tenants to take to various online forums to express their frustrations. Unfortunately, doing so may cause more harm than good. Posting a negative review or sharing a bad experience can open ...

By Paralegal Emma Tasch (formerly Sliwinski) | Possessing a criminal record can create a significant amount of worry and distress, even if the record originates from the juvenile years of a person's life. Adults who hold a juvenile criminal record most often fear that their past delinquent activity...

By Attorney Angie Reed In January 2023, a new law will take effect in Illinois that will have immediate ramifications for people charged with criminal offenses in the state. Most newsworthy has been the prong of the Act that describes “no cash bail.” Currently in Illinois (and most other states...

By Attorney Bradley Fuller On January 1, 2023, Illinois will enact the no cash bail provisions of the Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today Act, commonly known as the SAFE-T Act. This wide-sweeping legislation aimed at correcting many of the inefficiencies and injustices in our curre...

By Attorney Jackie Schmidt If you are a union member and your grievance has been advanced to arbitration. What should you expect next? Pre-Hearing: At this point, your employer has denied your grievance and any contract violations alleged within. Your union decided to advance your grievance to ar...

By Attorney Sarah Albert and Attorney Antonio Flores  Talking about finances and property distribution with family can be difficult, but it's always best to have a plan in place in case the unexpected happens. CTM Legal Group can assist with the often overlooked task of estate planning. A last wi...

By Attorney Rohail Salman There are many laws that provide tenants with options if their landlord violates their rights. For example, if the tenant informs the landlord of a necessary repair and the landlord refuses to fix it within the required timeframe, the tenant can withhold a portion of the...

CTM Legal Group was proud to host the 43rd General Assembly Meeting for the Alliance of Business Lawyers (ABL) in Chicago, Illinois from September 28 – October 1, 2022.  The 45 delegates from 22 different member firms gathered in the Windy City, along with representatives from the Chicago busines...

By Attorney Bradley Fuller Pursuing a career in health care is noble, exciting, and potentially quite lucrative.  In the current Covid era, CNAs, personal medical aids, and home health care assistants are in extremely high demand.  However, many people who aspire to serve in these occupations are...

By Attorney Sarah Albert Illinois has an abundance of fantastic public schools across many districts. But if your child is enrolling into a new school district and must submit proof of residency within that district, there are a few things you should be prepared to provide. As school districts ta...

By Paralegal Emma Sliwinski In my blog post from January 26, 2022, I discussed the importance of mitigation in DUI and traffic cases. However, the process of mitigation does not apply exclusively to these two types of legal matters. When an individual has been charged with a misdemeanor as minor ...

The court system can be as equally daunting as it is confusing, especially when minor children are involved. Although some may be familiar with the term “Guardian ad Litem” in some way or another, for many the concept of a Child Representative and an Attorney for the Child are foreign. So, what i...

By Attorney Angie Reed Many Illinoisans celebrated in 2020 when marijuana became legal for recreational use for adults over the age of 21. With legalization came a new crop of dispensaries and an ability to buy a once-illicit product over the counter like any other purchase. Although it's easy en...

By Attorney Sarah Albert As mask mandates come to an end, so do certain regulations put into place by Governor J.B. Pritzker that were aimed at relieving stressors related to housing insecurity during the global pandemic. The Illinois Rental Payment Program (ILRPP) deployed $1.1 billion in fundin...

On this page we will be updating our clients and the public concerning legal developments of interest pertaining to the COVID-19/Coronavirus outbreak. April 28, 2022 "Change in Eviction Laws Placed During COVID-19" As mask mandates come to an end, so do certain regulations put into place by Gover...

By Attorney Devon DeMarco  Imagine that you come home from work and are flipping through your mail. You see an envelope from DCFS, the Department of Children and Family Services. You think nothing of it and leave it in the pile along with other junk mail, assuming it is some type of request for a...

By Attorney Conor Grealish As many renters in Chicago know, the end of a lease raises levels of anxiety. Tenants must ask themselves: will my landlord renew my lease? Will I have to pay more rent to stay in the neighborhood I have lived in for years? Or will I have time to find affordable housing...

By Attorney Matt Carpenter  Back in August, National Labor Relations Board General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo issued a memo to the Board's regional offices in which she signaled the potential return to a long dormant standard related to an employer's bad faith refusal to recognize potential bargain...

By Attorney Edward Abramson The COVID-19 pandemic continues to present a public health crisis as we start 2022 off with the Omicron variant and sporadic surges in infections. State, Federal, and local governments continue to adjust to the new normal and have worked to limit the spread and severit...