A Relentless Approach To Civil Rights Justice

Ours is the greatest nation on earth because our government was created by our founding fathers “of the people, by the people, for the people.” Because of this, all levels of government, by law, are accountable to every individual when anyone oversteps its bounds and abuses the power granted to it by all of us. For decades, Ekl, Williams & Provenzale LLC has been at the forefront of protecting the civil rights of individuals who have been wronged by the abuse of governmental power.

Fighting To Uphold Wronged Clients’ Rights

Our lawyers have extensive experience in the state and federal courts representing individuals who were harmed due to the abuse of power by a government unit or its employees. We also offer innovative representation, often making new law in cases of the first impression. Another lawyer may be afraid to take a case because the issues or principles are not well settled. Because of our aggressive and innovative approach, we have secured exceptional results for our clients in challenging and unique circumstances, including:

• Police or school personnel misconduct, brutality or false arrest
• Discrimination or retaliation against public school or university students and their parents for protected speech or status
• Prison or jail inmate death or injuries due to mistreatment or indifference

If a government agency or its employee has abused their power and harmed you or a loved one, Ekl, Williams & Provenzale LLC provides you with a team of lawyers with aggressive and innovative strategies to fight back and obtain the outcome that you deserve, as occurred in the following cases:

• $2.65 million jury verdict and fees and costs award after proving that the Chicago police “code of silence” led to the client being savagely beaten by an off-duty policeman
• $2.2 million for the surviving family of a 27-year-old Mexican immigrant who was shot by Chicago police, after which, disgraced officer Jason Van Dyke was alleged to have been involved in a police cover-up
• $375,000 for seven University of Illinois women’s basketball players for race discrimination
• $355,000 for six clients who were improperly housed in a rubber room at the LaSalle County jail for hours, which resulted in a revised sheriff’s policy regarding the jail’s use of that room in the future
• $325,000 for the surviving son and daughter of a 55-year-old parent who committed suicide while in jail
• $325,000 for a man falsely arrested for DUI and beaten while in custody by a Chicago police officer who was later indicted for official misconduct
• $200,000 for a 12-year-old student and his parents who were falsely accused of allowing the student to bring a knife to school
• $175,000 for a client who was falsely arrested and suffered a broken nose from excessive police force
• $175,000 jury verdict and fees and costs award for a client who was beaten by a Joliet policeman while the client was handcuffed and helpless in the back seat of a squad car

Bold Law Enforcement Defense And Government Agency Representation

Because of our regional reputation as aggressive and innovative litigators in these cases, we have also been called on by local government officials to defend individuals, counties and state’s attorneys against claims of civil rights violations. Our lawyers have achieved exceptional results in cases for our governmental clients including:

• Dismissal before any discovery of a state attorney against a claim of coercive interrogation and an alleged scheme of intimidation
• Finding of not guilty after bench trial in defense of a south suburban police officer against a charge of official misconduct
• Finding of not guilty after a jury trial in defense of a municipal police officer wrongly accused of attacking and falsely arresting a person attending a birthday party

Government Auditing And Consulting

Because of our extensive and unique experience as innovators in the area of civil rights and constitutional law, we are regularly called upon to provide auditing and consulting services to various governmental agencies that are seeking to improve their operations, such as:

• A policy and practices audit investigation and related civil litigation regarding the hiring practices of a chairman of the town of Cicero’s board of fire and police commissioners (2003)
• A policy and practices audit investigation of allegations of profiling police activity in the village of Mount Prospect, Illinois (2004)
• A policy and practices audit investigation of allegations of police misconduct in the village of Park Ridge, Illinois (2008)
• A policy and practices audit investigation of allegations of correctional staff misconduct in the Lake County jail (2012)
• A policy and practices audit investigation of employee hiring, firing and discipline by the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office (2013)
• A best practices audit of the Park Ridge-Niles community consolidated middle school District 64 School Resource Officer Program and proposed intergovernmental agreements

Talk To Our Lawyers Now

As leading lawyers in the area of civil rights, our team at Ekl, Williams & Provenzale LLC is highly qualified to provide governmental auditing and consulting services and reports with competitive governmental rates. You can call us now at 630-366-0837 to set up your consultation. We are also available by email.