Public Interest, Constitutional Protections and Government Wrongdoing - Practice Areas

public interest, constitutional protections and

government wrongdoing

(including pension & healthcare protections)

The Krislov firm's "Up Against the Big Guys" approach originated in Illinois with its derivative actions brought against state and local governments to correct the massively under-funded state and local pension systems. See 1989 Chicago Tribune article. These actions include Ryan v. City of Chicago, 148 Ill.App.3d 638 (1st Dist. 1986) and 274 Ill.App.3d 483 (1st Dist. 1995), in which the Krislov firm has already recovered in excess of $32 million cash in a settlement valued at $80 million. Ryan ended the City of Chicago's illegal conversion of pension tax levies and improved the funding for Chicago's public pension funds. See also People ex rel. Sklowdowski v. State,-- Ill.App.3d -- , 1996 WL 454953 (Ill. App. Aug. 13, 1996) and 112 Ill.2d 117 (1994) establishing trial courts power to compel State Officials to comply with statutory minimum contribution obligation for the five State-funded retirement systems to correct a shortfall now totaling $3.4 billion). In City of Chicago v. Korshak, 206 Ill.App.3d 968 (1st Dist. 1990) and Retired Chicago Police Ass'n v. City of Chicago, 7 F.3d 584 (7th Cir. 1992), parallel state and federal cases, the firm forced the City of Chicago to continue retiree health care insurance for 21,000 retirees and their families.

The Krislov firm is perhaps the sole remaining initiator of private attorney general derivative cases in Illinois seeking recovery for governmental fraud, abuse and mismanagement. See Ryan v. Cosentino, 776 F.Supp. 386 (N.D. Ill. 1991), 793 F.Supp. 822 (N.D. Ill. 1992), and 1995 WL 516603 (N.D. Ill. August 24, 1995); McKay v. Kusper, 252 Ill.App.3d 450 (1993).

Recent public interest cases include:

Underwood, et al. v. City of Chicago, No. 13-cv-5687 (N.D. Ill.) (Dispute over the rights of certain annuitants of the City of Chicago Annuity & Benefit Funds for Police, Firemen, Municipal employees and Laborers to permanent coverage under the City’s retiree healthcare plan, subsidized by their respective Annuity & Benefit fund, unreduced from the terms and subsidy in effect on their dates of entry into their respective Funds).
Challenging Privatization of Public Assets: IVI-IPO, et al. v. Lux, et al., No. 09 CH 28993 (Cir. Ct. Cook County, Ill.) (City of Chicago Parking Meter Lease Litigation); Court denied City of Chicago’s motion to dismiss taxpayers’ allegations that the City’s agreement to sell the parking meters to a private company is unconstitutional (November 4, 2010). Click here to see Attorney Krislov's appearance on WTTW's News Analysis with Elizabeth Brackett to discuss the lawsuit.

Constitutional Litigation

Matter of Grand Jury Subpoena Duces Tecum, 725 F.2d 1110 (7th Cir. 1984) (establishing invalidity of subpoenas issued by U.S. Attorneys without Grand Jury authorization). Shaper v. Tracy, 97 Ohio App. 3d 760 (1994), cert. denied, 116 S. Ct. 274 (1995) and 76 Ohio St. 3d 241, 667 N.E. 2d 368 (1996) (Dormant Commerce Clause challenge to discriminatory state income taxation of only foreign-state municipal income).