Vested Interest May 2021

What a difference a year, and a pandemic, can make. This time last year, we were two months into a pandemic that changed our practices, our lives, and our world as we knew it. Hospitals were filled to capacity with sick patients, restaurants and non-essential businesses were closed by executive order, and jury trials, the driving force in our pursuit of justice for our clients, came to a resounding halt. While the challenges were like none other seen in the last 100 years, we are now beginning to see a light at the end of the tunnel. COVID-19 vaccines are now widely available, with a reported 50% of the population having been vaccinated. While the Illinois Department of Public Health has reported the astounding number of 22,739 COVID-19 fatalities and 1,380,261 COVID-19 cases in Illinois, as of May 28th, the seven-day statewide COVID-19 positivity rate of 1.9 percent, is one of the lowest recorded.

We have now even seen our first jury trial resume in what, is inarguably, the state’s most challenging venue to socially distance: Cook County’s Daley Center. Importantly, that trial resulted in a verdict for the plaintiff.

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