Monday On Main Street is an exclusive filmmaker social event taking place every year in Park City, UT during the Sundance Film Festival. This event offers talented experts a chance to enjoy themselves in an upbeat, upscale setting in the heart of the fest. Attendees dined and networked at Butcher’s […]

By: Robert Bramlette, Income Member Even though the Great Recession has ended, economists are forecasting the U.S economy will have tepid growth for 2016 and 2017. When an event in China or the Middle East can directly or indirectly impact local businesses, entrepreneurs must manage every expense meticulously. One of […]

Rich and Jason dive into Making a Murderer with two of the reporters who covered the trials, Tom Kertscher, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Emily Matesic, WBAY-TV. They are then joined by Professor Josh Tepfer from Exoneration Project to discuss the recent release of Ben Baker, who served 10 years in […]

By: Tina Paries, Income Member In Illinois, the right to a trial by jury is a constitutional right in civil and criminal cases. The option to select six or twelve jurors in certain civil cases has recently been called into question. The Illinois Code of Civil Procedure previously provided in […]

By: Geoff Bryce, Managing Partner Federal Judge John Robert Blakey wrote an opinion dated November 25, 2015 in Westfield Insurance Co. v. National Decorating Service, et al, 67 F.Supp.3d 898 (N.D.Ill. 2015) holding that there are allegations in the complaint that property damage is outside the scope of the subcontractor’s […]

By: Mollie O’Brien, Associate Under the Kotecki case, employers are generally not liable to a general contractor sued by its employee in contribution for amounts exceeding workers’ compensation benefits. In the context of actions associated with injuries sustained by employees, employers ultimately should revisit their contracts to determine whether this […]

Downey & Lenkov received the 2015 Builders Association’s Corporate Citizenship Award and was honored at the Annual Builders Connect Conference on 12/10/15. The award is given to a company for its philanthropic contributions and strong commitment to public services. Among our efforts to give back, we have participated in several events […]

By: Robert Bramlette, Income Member Chicago, surrounding suburbs and school districts are in difficult financial positions due to outstanding pension obligations and reductions in funding from the state of Illinois. As a result, each of these taxing bodies is increasing the amount received from property owners.   1. Three components […]

By: Juan Anderson, Income Member “We followed the plans and specifications provided by the owner and the deck collapsed. Why are we being sued?” – General Contractor In a typical breach of contract claim against the general contractor by the owner, the general contractor has a defense to the owner’s […]

By: Jim McConkey, Of Counsel Construction and other commercial borrowers in Illinois are well advised to take note of the Illinois Credit Agreements Act (ICAA) in their dealings with lenders. Simply put, unless a credit agreement between a bank and a commercial borrower is in writing and otherwise meets the […]