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Caution: Medicare drug plan may cause headaches
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – If many seniors are scratching their heads about the new Medicare prescription drug plan, so are the experts. “A prescription for confusion” is how Richard L. Kaplan, a professor of law at the University of Illinois, characterizes the new drug benefit, whose enrollment period begins today for Americans aged 65 years and […]
Boards that oversee human-subject research need overhaul
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – University Institutional Review Boards, which oversee research involving human subjects, need to be revamped to avoid the “mission creep” that is threatening academic freedom and restricting research on the nation’s campuses, according to a report by University of Illinois researchers and scholars. The report, “Improving the System for Protecting Human Subjects: Counteracting […]
Laws about pregnant women and substance abuse questioned
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – In Wisconsin, an expectant woman can be taken into custody if police believe her abuse of alcohol may harm her unborn child. In South Dakota, pregnant alcohol and drug users can be committed to treatment centers for up to nine months. Under a legal theory known as fetal rights, more than 20 […]
Flash Index of Illinois economy held steady in October, latest data show
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The University of Illinois Flash Economic Index remained at 106.9 last month, the same level as September. “A stable Index means that the state economy continues to expand at the same rate, which is positive news since the Flash reading is at the highest level since January 1998,” J. Fred Giertz, the […]
Reasoning behind sodomy-law ruling bears on zoning laws
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – At first glance, a Texas sodomy law would seem to have little in common with neighborhood zoning ordinances, but a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the former could have a strong impact on the latter, a University of Illinois legal scholar argues. In 2003, the high court struck down Texas’ “homosexual conduct” […]
Using science in classroom on behalf of a cause predates ‘intelligent design’
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The effort to teach “intelligent design” in public schools is not the first time that “science” has been enlisted for a cause in the classroom, according to a University of Illinois legal scholar. In the 1870s, the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union launched a campaign for laws that required classroom instruction about the […]
U. of I. Flash Index of economy bounces back to high point
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The University of Illinois Flash Economic Index rebounded last month to 106.9 from its 106.5 level in August. The current reading coincides with the recent high for the Index achieved in July. The September reading suggests that the Illinois economy was not affected by the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita and, […]
Workplace arbitration becoming more costly for employers
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – In the wake of a 1991 court decision, a growing number of companies require employees to submit workplace disputes to an arbitrator. The U.S. Supreme Court, in its Gilmer decision, affirmed the right of companies to create alternative dispute procedures, which require an employee to waive his right to sue his employer […]
Princeton economist to lecture about global labor market
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Orley C. Ashenfelter, a professor of economics at Princeton University, will deliver the David Kinley Lecture in Economics at 3:30 p.m. Sept. 9 (Friday) at 134 Temple Hoyne Buell Hall, 611 E. Loredo Taft Drive, Champaign. His lecture, titled “Evolution of the Global Labor Market: Continuity vs. Change,” will examine the subjects […]
Rise of unincorporated businesses linked to regulatory, ethical issues
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The rapid expansion of non-incorporated businesses, such as limited liability companies (LLCs) and limited liability partnerships (LLPs), raises questions ranging from government regulation to professional ethics, according to the latest issue of the University of Illinois Law Review. Beginning in 1977, many state legislatures have authorized the establishment of such entities, which […]
Sarbanes-Oxley Act unfair when company is bankrupt, law scholar says
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Sarbanes-Oxley Act – sometimes referred to as SOX – has come under heavy fire from business groups for adding to the cost of annual corporate audits. Another problem with the law is its encroachment on the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, according to an article in the University of Illinois Law Review. Zack […]
Battered women who kill in non-beating situation have self-defense right
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Answering critics of the “battered woman syndrome,” a University of Illinois expert argues that the claims made by victims of domestic violence are a legitimate extension of the longstanding rules of self-defense. Many dispute the notion that the legal protection of self-defense can be extended to a woman who kills a partner […]