From: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

Beginning June 4, 2020, certain USCIS field offices and asylum offices will resume non-emergency face-to-face services to the public. USCIS has enacted precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in reopened facilities:

• Visitors may not enter a USCIS facility if they:
  • Have any symptoms of COVID-19, including cough, fever or difficulty breathing;
  • Have been in close contact with anyone known or suspected to have COVID-19 in the last 14 days; or
  • Have been individually directed to self-quarantine or self-isolate by a health care provider or public health official within the last 14 days.
• Visitors may not enter the facility more than 15 minutes prior to their appointment (30 minutes for naturalization ceremonies).
• Hand sanitizer will be provided for visitors at entry points. 
• Members of the public must wear facial coverings that cover both the mouth and nose when entering facilities. If they do not have one, USCIS may provide one or the visitor will be asked to reschedule their appointment.
• There will be markings and physical barriers in the facility; visitors should pay close attention to these signs to ensure they follow social distancing guidelines.
• Individuals may also have to answer health screening questions before entering a facility. 
• Individuals are encouraged to bring their own black or blue ink pens.

From: Circuit Court of Will County

All court facilities in Will County will be open during normal business hours, including Branch Courts effective June 1, 2020.

On May 27, 2020, Chief Judge Richard C. Schoenstedt issued Administrative Order 2020-23. This Order sets forth the parameters of Court operations as the State moves into Stage .'3 of Governor Pritzker's "Restore Illinois" plan. Administrative Order 2020-2.'3 delineates many of the current practices including the safety requirements of social distancing and face-covering as well as the expanded use of remote hearings in Civil and Family cases. In addition, specific protocols in felony, juvenile, misdemeanor and traffic cases have also been adopted. 

From U.S. District Court - Northern District

Effective May 29th:

-The Third Amended General Order 20-0012 extended certain deadlines by 28 days. This Fourth Amended General Order does not extend any deadlines in civil cases

-Civil jury trials will not be conducted before August 3, 2020, and trials set to begin before August 3, 2020, will be reset by the presiding judge.

-The Court suspends Local Rule 5.2(f), which requires in many instances that paper courtesy copies of filings be delivered to the judge, through July 15, 2020. No courtesy copies may be submitted for filings made through July 15, 2020.

-Although parties may continue to file non-emergency motions, the Court suspends Local Rule 5.3(b), which otherwise requires that all motions be noticed for presentment. For non-emergency motions, no motion may be noticed for presentment on a date earlier than July 15, 2020. For notices of presentment on and after July 15, 2020,parties must consult each judges’ presentment schedule because judges may continue to suspend the presentment requirement and may schedule motions at limited times.

https://www.ilnd.uscourts.gov/_assets/_documents/New%20AMENDED%20GENERAL%20ORDER%2020-0012.pdf

From: DuPage County Chief Judge Daniel P. Guerin

DuPage County Chief Judge Daniel P. Guerin today issued an Administrative Order which extends limited court operations by rescheduling most criminal, juvenile, and all traffic matters through June 5, 2020. Beginning May 18, 2020, civil matters will remain as currently scheduled and proceedings will be conducted remotely using telephonic and video conferencing technology, including the Zoom platform.

From: BCRNews

The 13th Judicial Circuit Courts, which consist of LaSalle, Bureau and Grundy counties, will resume resume operations (whether in person or remotely) beginning on June 1, subject to the mandatory and recommended provisions of Illinois Supreme Court Order M.R. 30370 entered on May 20, 2020, and the Supreme Court Guidelines for Resuming Illinois Judicial Branch Operations during the COVID-19 pandemic and subject to the individual judge’s management discretion within the parameters of the order and guidelines in individual cases and calls.

From: Cook County Chief Judge Evans

Discussions continue on the upcoming phases of operation in the Circuit Court of Cook County. The court is currently operating on its modified schedule through May 31. The court continues to monitor the pandemic and is mindful that the pandemic is not expected to peak until mid-June.

On Thursday, Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans will enter an order that essentially extends his current order to July 6 or until further order of court, meaning the date could be earlier than July 6. On June 1, emergency matters will continue to be heard in civil and criminal cases. Since the modified court operations began on March 17, judges have heard more than 111,000 criminal matters either in person or via videoconference. The number of hearings in civil cases is still being compiled.

Chief Judge Evans considered entering an order to resume more court proceedings on June 15. But he decided to extend the date to July 6 to allow enough time for all justice system stakeholders to ensure that more proceedings will be conducted in a way that protects everybody. These conditions have not been finalized, but they will be consistent with best practices involving face coverings, physical distancing, room capacity limits and flexibility for those who cannot attend court due to illness or exposure to illness.

Chief Judge Evans is asking judges to review pending cases with attorneys via telephone or videoconference to determine when cases can be scheduled on or after July 6.

In addition, the court is seeking additional Zoom licenses, so that more proceedings may be conducted via videoconference and livestreamed via the court’s YouTube channel. The court currently has 50 Zoom licenses and is awaiting the result of contractual negotiations between the county and Zoom to secure 350 more Zoom licenses.

The court will continue to monitor the pandemic and make additional announcements as needed.

From: U.S. District Court-Northern District of Illinois

Chief Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer releases May 25, 2020 Video Message to the Bar, advising she has appointed a task force to plan for the safe resumption of operations at the courthouse.

https://www.ilnd.uscourts.gov/Pages.aspx?page=covidvideo

From: William Pokorny of Franczek

City Council approved an amendment to the Chicago Fair Workweek Ordinance to temporarily protect employers from lawsuits.  Although the substantive requirements of the Ordinance will still go into effect on July 1, 2020 as scheduled and may still be enforced by the City, individual employees will not be allowed to file lawsuits for violations of the ordinance occurring before January 1, 2021.  For safety-net hospitals, the ordinance will still go into effect on January 1, 2021 as originally scheduled.

Separately, the City’s Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (“BACP”) issued a final rule clarifying certain requirements under the Ordinance to assist businesses in moving forward with updating their scheduling practices. As we previously reported, the Ordinance applies only to certain “Covered Employers,” that employ the requisite number of employees and those primarily engaged in one of the following industries: business services, healthcare, hotel, manufacturing, restaurant, retail, and warehouse services. Key provisions of the final rule are summarized below. 

From: One Legal Blog

Paralegals should be many things: organized, efficient, ethical, hard-working, meticulous, and methodical. Being methodical means forming a routine and sticking to it, even as deadlines loom and stress ensures. Here are some of the qualities that define a methodical paralegal and why methodical should be your new MO.

From: Illinois Supreme Court

The Illinois Supreme Court today issued an order and operational guidelines to help courts statewide resume in-person operations and establish procedures for remote hearings. Since midMarch, the state’s courts have been operating under precautionary measures to minimize the spread of COVID-19 while continuing to conduct emergency and essential matters.

This order is effective June 1 and modifies the Court’s March 17, 2020 order so that each circuit may return to hearing all court matters either in-person or remotely according to a schedule adopted for each county by the chief circuit judge. Remote hearings, which have proven to be successful nationwide, will play a large role in reducing the numbers of people appearing at courthouses and ensuring the safety of court users, staff and judicial officers.