Before and after the 2024 amendment
After Cothron v. White Castle Sys., Inc., 2023 IL 124472, the General Assembly rewrote 740 ILCS 14/20 to say that collecting or disclosing “the same biometric identifier or biometric information from the same person using the same method of collection” is a single violation for which the plaintiff gets one statutory recovery—not a multiplier for every scan or transmission.
Plaintiffs in repeat-scan cases argued each scan or transmission triggered separate liquidated damages, producing enormous exposure models in federal and state court.
Same person, same method, same identifier: one violation, one recovery, capped at $5,000 (intentional) or $1,000 (negligent) under the statute’s tiered scheme.
The panel treated the 2024 change as remedial: it governs damages, not the substantive duties in 740 ILCS 14/15, and therefore applies retroactively to pending suits under Illinois retroactivity analysis.
Consolidated appeals reversed three district court orders that had declined to apply the amendment retroactively. Practitioners now re-run damages models and class-certification economics across open BIPA dockets in Illinois federal court.
Duane Morris analysis · 2026 WL 891902 (7th Cir. Apr. 1, 2026) Seventh Circuit opinion PDF (linked from firm alert)Transit grants unfrozen — for now
Following the Chicago Transit Authority’s suit over withheld Federal Transit Administration grants, U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin granted a temporary restraining order directing the U.S. Department of Transportation and FTA to resume processing payments tied to the Red Line extension and Red-Purple modernization. The order followed briefing that warned work stoppages were imminent without restored federal cash flow.
- Relief Temporary restoration of grant processing after an October 2025 freeze
- Projects Red Line Extension toward 130th Street; Red and Purple Modernization
- This development is a follow-up to last week’s coverage of the underlying funding dispute: the story moved from filing to emergency injunctive relief.
Attorney General Raoul leads challenge to USDA funding conditions
On March 23, 2026, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul joined a 21-state coalition suing over conditions the U.S. Department of Agriculture attached to nutrition, rural aid, and cooperative agreements—alleging Spending Clause and Administrative Procedure Act violations.
The last big cannabis licensing lawsuit reaches the bench
Capitol News Illinois reported that Well-Being Holistic Group’s challenge to Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation lottery administration—alleging hundreds of ineligible entries diluted a Chicago-region social-equity pool—received a multi-day hearing before Judge Patrick Stanton, with ruling reserved for May 21. The dispute sits at the intersection of administrative discretion, equity policy, and probability.
IDFPR contended recalculated odds still would not have placed the plaintiff in a winning position; plaintiffs pressed for structural remedies including a corrective lottery.
Capitol News Illinois / KWQC · April 4, 2026McKenzie v. Progressive Treatment Solutions, LLC
No. 25-cv-1768 · 2026 WL 636741 (N.D. Ill. Mar. 6, 2026)
A vape cartridge labeled as a “smokable” product was actually a cannabis-infused product under the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act, with THC above CIP caps—fraud by wrongful regulatory classification.
Under Illinois law, misrepresentations of law cannot support common-law fraud; the complaint turned on statutory interpretation of “smoking” and “combustion,” not false facts about the product’s contents.
The order also narrowed Article III standing for unpurchased SKUs and rejected privity-based warranty theories where the plaintiff bought from a dispensary, not the manufacturer defendants.
Drug & Device Law Blog · summary of N.D. Ill. orderLincoln Avenue dispensary zoning survives appeal
The First District Appellate Court affirmed approval of a special use permit for an adult-use cannabis dispensary near North Lincoln Avenue in Chicago, rejecting challenges spanning standing, due process, and equal protection—with emphasis on whether objectors proved statutory standing within 250 feet.
The court stressed record-based review: challengers could not cure deficient administrative proof with new facts on appeal. The disposition issued as a Supreme Court Rule 23 order with limited precedential effect.
Illinois Lawyer Now · March 2026People v. Rose-Watkins — pretrial detention affirmed
The appellate court affirmed an order detaining the defendant under the Pretrial Fairness Act following charges of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. The opinion addresses firearm possession near a police facility and FOID/CCL issues in the SAFE-T Act era—material for bond practitioners tracking detention standards in Cook County.
Illinois Courts · 2026 IL App (1st) 252509-U (PDF)Insurance rate transparency moves in Springfield
Reporting from Capitol News Illinois describes House passage of legislation combining homeowners and automobile rate oversight—including notice before double-digit increases and a future framework for Illinois Department of Insurance review of excessive filings. The measure awaited further legislative action in the Senate.
Utility regulation: ICC docket work continues
Beyond headline appellate decisions, practitioners tracking natural-gas rates should monitor Illinois Commerce Commission dockets such as North Shore Gas’s general rate proceeding (ICC Docket P2026-0066), where proposed tariffs and evidentiary hearings shape what Chicago-area customers will pay. Administrative litigation here moves on paper and expert testimony long before it ever reaches Article IV review.
Illinois Commerce Commission · Case P2026-0066 docket pageThe week ahead
Dates to watch across Illinois practice — verify on official calendars before filing or traveling.
First District Appellate Court — check oral argument calendar for division-specific schedules.
Second District Appellate Court — in-person arguments per published appellate calendar listings.
General Assembly — spring session continues; committee agendas for insurance, labor, and cannabis trailer bills typically post on ilga.gov.
Cook County Circuit Court — reserved ruling expected in Well-Being Holistic Group litigation against IDFPR (as reported April 2026).
ICC — hearing noted on North Shore Gas rate docket materials for P2026-0066 (confirm final schedule on the Commission site).