For more information, please contact:
Gwen Osborne, director of public affairs, (312) 906-5251
ADVISORY TO PRODUCERS, COLUMNISTS AND ASSIGNMENT, LEGAL, PLANNING, BUSINESS, AND DAYBOOK EDITORS
CHICAGO--April 5, 2006--Chicago-Kent College of Law, the Stuart Graduate School
of Business and the Center for Financial Markets have experts available to discuss current issues.
To reach any of our experts, call Gwen Osborne, director
of public affairs, at (312) 906-5251. Copies of press releases and earlier advisories are available
on our Web site: http://www.kentlaw.edu/news/advisory.
Immigration reform: As protesters took to the streets for a fourth consecutive weekend, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said he would push for a vote this week on a Senate bill that may lead to U.S. citizenship for approximately 11 million of the nation’s illegal immigrants. Under the measure, persons who were in the country prior to 2004 would be allowed to get temporary work visas, if they clear criminal background checks and pay a $1,000 fine. After six years, they would be eligible for permanent legal residence, if they learn English and pay back taxes and another $1,000 fine. H.R. 4437, the House’s controversial immigration reform bill passed last December, would make it a felony to be illegally in the U.S. and would erect fences along one-third of the U.S.-Mexican border. In addition, new penalties would be imposed on companies that hire illegal immigrants and on agencies or groups that provide services to illegals. Opposition to that measure has set off a wave of protests throughout the country. Professor Matthew I. Bernstein oversees Chicago-Kent’s Immigration Law Clinic. (See below) He is available for interviews.
The jury in the George Ryan corruption trial has reconvened. Last week, U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer unseated two jurors deliberating in the case and replaced them with alternates after it was learned that the original jurors had given false statements on their questionnaires. The reconstructed jury was given instructions and began deliberating. However, the jury had been off since last Thursday when jurors asked for transcripts related to testimony about a company that received a state contract to make license plate stickers while Ryan was Secretary of State. Chicago-Kent professors Douglas W. Godfrey and Richard S. Kling are available for interviews. Professor Godfrey is a former prosecutor; Professor Kling is a criminal defense attorney.
Game of Shadows. Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig announced former U.S. Senator George Mitchell will lead an investigation of steroid-use by players. While specific players were not named during the commissioner’s announcement, speculation is that San Francisco Giants’ star Barry Bonds will be among those investigated. Allegations regarding Bonds’ use of illegal substances resurfaced in Game of Shadows, a new book by two San Francisco Chronicle reporters. In his 2003 grand jury testimony, Bonds admitted that he used a clear substance and a cream given to him by his personal trainer, Greg Anderson, who pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute anabolic steroids. However, Bonds has denied he knowingly took steroids. Adjunct professor and sports attorney Eldon L. Ham says if the league’s investigation finds that Bonds willingly used steroids, "[MLB] should qualify his records accordingly. But short of that, baseball at least should give Roger Maris and Hank Aaron a real asterisk, designating them as ‘...the last home run recordholders in the pre-steroid era.’" Professor Ham is the author of Larceny & Old Leather: The Mischievous Legacy Of Major League Baseball. He is available for interviews about the continuing steroid controversy.
The McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum opens on Michigan Avenue April 11. The 10,000- square-foot museum was built to commemorate the McCormick Tribune Foundation’s 50th anniversary. Its aim is "to help visitors recognize the many facets of our democratic process, while promoting a sense of civic responsibility and championing our unalienable rights as guaranteed by the First Amendment." A recent survey conducted by the Foundation revealed that more Americans can name the members of the animated Simpson family than can name the freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment. Constitutional scholars are available for interviews about First Amendment issues.
Chicago-Kent’s Immigration Law Clinic is seeking those who need legal assistance with immigration, asylum and nationality matters. The clinic is supervised by Professor Matthew I. Bernstein, whose practice includes advising corporations, nonprofit organizations and individuals in all areas of immigration law, including professionals; aliens of extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts and business; individuals seeking immigration benefits for family members; and individuals threatened with removal from the United States by the government. Professor Bernstein is available for interviews about the Immigration Law Clinic. He is also available to speak with organizations about immigration issues.
Chicago-Kent's Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic is seeking taxpayers who have disputes with the IRS. Those who meet certain income criteria may qualify for free assistance with their tax disputes. Students work under the supervision of Professor Jonathan Decatorsmith. More information about the program is available on the Web site. Professor Decatorsmith is available for interviews about the program, but is unable to answer media queries for current tax filing stories.
Downtown Campus Events
April 6: "From Tel Aviv to Ramallah: A Beatbox Journey" is an hour-long hip-hop play about the lives of young people affected by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict written by Professor Rachel Havrelock of the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). As part of the new UIC/Chicago-Kent Muslim Jewish Initiative, JAMS (Jewish Arab Muslim Students) was formed to create an atmosphere of dialogue and to produce campus events focused on the Middle East and Muslim, Arab and Jewish identities. JAMS is presenting this performance of Havrelock’s award-winning play starring Yuri Lane and Sharif Ezzat, a Jewish-Arab performance team. The program is free and open to the public. It will begin at 7 p.m. in room L285 of the Education, Performing Arts and Social Work Building, 1040 W. Harrison Street on the UIC campus. For additional information about the play visit www.yurilane.com. For more information about the April 6 performance at UIC, call (312) 413-9464.
April 7: "From Ancient Persia to Abu Ghraib: Comparative Observations on Empire, Religion, and Torture" is the topic of a lecture by Bruce Lincoln, the Caroline E. Haskell Professor of the History of Religions at the University of Chicago. Professor Lincoln is the author of Holy Terrors: Thinking about Religion after September 11. Sponsored by Chicago-Kent’s Institute for Law and the Humanities, this program is the last in its "Law, Fundamentalism and Democracy" series. The program, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 2 p.m. in the Abraham Lincoln Marovitz Courtroom. For more information, contact Professor Sarah Harding, (312) 906-5227.
April 20-21: George K. Yin, Howard W. Smith Professor of Law, University of Virginia School of Law, will deliver the luncheon keynote address on the first day of Chicago-Kent’s 25th annual Federal Tax Institute. He will address the topic "Prospects for Budget Control and Tax Reform." Professor Yin, who headed the staff of the U.S. Congress’s Joint Committee on Taxation from 2003 to 2005, will share his insights regarding the likelihood of budget control and tax reform legislation in view of the current state of the law and legislative process. The two-day program also will review recent developments in tax law, and participants will discuss tax planning for multinational corporations, corporate taxation and executive compensation issues. For more information, call (312) 906-5090.
April 27-28: 23rd annual conference on Section 1983 Civil Rights Litigation. This two-day seminar provides a comprehensive update, presented by leading practitioners and legal scholars, on liability arising out of Section 1983 and other civil rights statutes. Police misconduct, sexual harassment, municipal liability, individual immunities and procedural defenses, and recent and forthcoming cases before the U.S. Supreme Court are among the topics to be explored. For more information, call (312) 906-5090.
–DTC–
|
