The HCBullet: The blog of the Attorneys at HCB

Court Grants in Favor of Manteno Fire on Probationary Firefighter’s Whistleblower Claim

December 19, 2022

On November 30, 2022, Kankakee County Circuit Court Judge Lindsay Parkhurst granted a motion to dismiss with prejudice in favor of the Manteno Community Fire Protection District and against a former probationary firefighter who had been employed for nine months before he was terminated by the District. The firefighter filed his first Complaint against the…

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Court Approves Use of Taser on Uncooperative, Combative Inmate in Jail

December 5, 2022

Jails are dangerous places for inmates and officers alike. Jail officials exercise substantial deferential discretion to manage security risks. The use of a Taser on an uncooperative, combative inmate is one reasonable option. In Hayden v. Stevenson, an unrestrained inmate at the DeKalb County Jail refused to enter a cellblock because he believed there were…

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Seventh Circuit Reminds Plaintiffs That Overcoming Summary Judgment Requires Evidence, Even in Fatal Officer Involved Shooting Cases

November 21, 2022

Countless federal court decisions teach that plaintiffs cannot evade summary judgment by speculation or by merely insisting that the other side’s witnesses must be liars. Rather, they must point to evidence in the record. The Seventh Circuit recently reiterated that this principle holds even in high-profile police shooting cases. A police officer was responding to…

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Judge Vindicates Police Officers In Search and Seizure Case

November 9, 2022

A federal judge recently granted summary judgment to three police officers in a suit arising out of those officers’ attempts to secure evidence against a home invasion suspect. Two detectives in a Will County municipality identified a home invasion suspect and obtained an arrest warrant. Several days later, they were told that a regional fugitive…

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Court Rejects Employee’s Attempt to Turn an Incentive Into an Entitlement

October 26, 2022

Many, if not most, employers offer their employees financial incentives for going beyond the minimum job duties. Earn an additional degree, exceed a sales threshold, or recruit new hires, and you get a bonus. A recent federal court decision preserves the ability of employers to offer such incentives without risk that some disgruntled employee will…

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