Lawyer Says Cook County Clerk Defamed Him
Recent Cases
An attorney claims the Cook County Clerk defamed him to TV news to retaliate for his informing another news station that the clerk had allegedly "confessed to using court funds to acquire three luxury SUVs to chauffeur her to the office and home again each day and to carry her 10-man 'security detail.'"
David Novoselsky claims County Clerk Dorothy Brown has it in for him because he has publicly criticized her, and sued her, for her part in raising the filing fee from $5 to $15. Novoselsky claims Brown did this as a political tool to seek re-election, claiming that by hiking the fee she was saving taxpayers money.
Novoselsky says he sued Brown on May 22 on behalf of a client who paid, but challenged, the fee increase. In response, he says, Brown released a statement to WBBM, Channel 2, accusing him of filing "frivolous and baseless lawsuits" against her office that are nothing more than "unscrupulous harassment, unbecoming an attorney at law."
Novoselsky claims that this alleged defamation was in retaliation for his tipping Fox News, Channel 32, to Brown's alleged misuse of public money for her private chauffeur service and security detail.
His complaint states: "Brown became agitated in the [Fox News] interview when the reporter pointed out that her chauffeur was being paid more than $60,000 per year as a 'systems analyst' and that there was no authority in her budget for a 'security detail.' Brown referred to these lawful restrictions as a mere 'budget title' and said that she needed to use court funds for her gas and parking expenses since she 'only made $105,000 per year.'"
Represented by Joseph Curcio in Cook County Court, Novoselsky demands $1 million in punitive damages.
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USCIS Adjusting Premium Processing Fee
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today it is adjusting the premium processing fee for Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker and Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers beginning on Oct. 1, 2018 to more effectively adjudicate petitions and maintain effective service to petitioners.
The premium processing fee will increase to $1,410, a 14.92 percent increase (after rounding) from the current fee of $1,225. This increase, which is done in accordance with the Immigration and Nationality Act, represents the percentage change in inflation since the fee was last increased in 2010 based on the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers.
“Because premium processing fees have not been adjusted since 2010, our ability to improve the adjudications and service processes for all petitioners has been hindered as we’ve experienced significantly higher demand for immigration benefits. Ultimately, adjusting the premium processing fee will allow us to continue making necessary investments in staff and technology to administer various immigration benefit requests more effectively and efficiently,” said Chief Financial Officer Joseph Moore. “USCIS will continue adjudicating all petitions on a case-by-case basis to determine if they meet all standards required under applicable law, policies, and regulations.”
Premium processing is an optional service that is currently authorized for certain petitioners filing Forms I-129 or I-140. The system allows petitioners to request 15-day processing of certain employment-based immigration benefit requests if they pay an extra fee. The premium processing fee is paid in addition to the base filing fee and any other applicable fees, which cannot be waived.