PHILADELPHIA – It's curious that a group of lawyers and scholars that traditionally sought to help judges by restating existing laws - but has since been accused of trying to create its own - is involving federal judges as it explains itself, attorneys feel.
Madison County Associate Judge Luther Simmons’ retired Jan. 5 after serving on the bench for roughly two years, leaving an associate judge vacancy to be filled.
PHILADELPHIA - Insurance and business defense attorneys are sparring with the drafters of a powerful legal document that will influence the outcome of insurance liability cases.
A Chicago cancer doctor whose research organization has received funding from the Simmons Mesothelioma Foundation has appeared in at least seven Madison County asbestos lawsuits as a treating physician or expert witness for cases filed by the Simmons firm of Alton.
On Nov. 30, jurors found former New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver guilty of giving state funds to Dr. Robert Taub while making money on referrals from him. The Simmons Foundation in 2010 executed a contract with Taub's research center at Columbia University, pledging $3.15 million in five years.
Recently selected Madison County Associate Judge Luther W. Simmons, 67, said his new position will give him a unique opportunity to give back to the community.
Third Judicial Circuit judges have voted to select Donald M. Flack, Maureen D. Schuette and Luther W. Simmons as associate judges of the Third Judicial Circuit.
While the Illinois state government gives billions of dollars to nonprofit organizations over the course of an ordinary budget year, there is little oversight of how the organizations spend those dollars, says Kristina Rasmussen, executive vice president of the Illinois Policy Institute. “They give that money with the best intentions, hoping it will help carry out some of the priorities they have deemed to be important,” Rasmussen said.
