SPRINGFIELD, Ill., March 28 -- The Illinois Courts Office issued the following opinion on Feb. 28:
1. Held: The appellate court affirmed in part, vacated in part, and remanded, holding: (1) defendant's counsel did not render ineffective assistance by arguing a novel legal theory that defendant was not guilty of aggravated arson when he set a residential fire while a person was inside, but then removed the person from the building; (2) remand was required for proper Illinois Supreme Court Rule 605(b) admonitions and new postplea motions on the counts to which defendant pled guilty; and (3) the trial court plainly erred by failing to comply with section 5-5-6 of the Unified Code of Corrections (730 ILCS 5/5-5-6 (West 2020)) when awarding res...