North Cook News

Cook, Madison and St. Clair counties are "judicial hellholes" in the eyes of the American Tort Reform Foundation, according to the Illinois Lawsuit Abuse Watch (I-LAW) and Rep. Tom Morrison (R-Palatine).

I-LAW and Morrison worked together at a rally in Palatine to support reforms to prevent frivolous lawsuits that threaten Illinois’ economic prospects, according to a press release. The rally targeted House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) and Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago) for not allowing votes on lawsuit reform.

“The reality is companies look to move to states where the legal climate is fair, which is why Illinois’ status as the 'Lawsuit Abuse Capital of the Midwest’ is making it extremely difficult to attract new employers," Travis Akin, executive director of I-LAW, said in the release. "Even worse, Illinois is actually losing jobs, as companies have moved across our borders to states such as Missouri and Iowa that have recently passed common sense lawsuit reforms to make it less likely that businesses there will be frivolously sued. It is time for Illinois to stop being the “Sue Me” state and time to finally pass common sense lawsuit reforms.”

Rep. Tom Morrison (R-Palatine) | http://www.ilga.gov/house/Rep.asp?MemberID=1783

I-LAW highlighted how Illinois’ neighboring states have worked to make their laws more business friendly and less lawsuit friendly.

“States such as Texas, Indiana, Missouri and Wisconsin all have seen significant job growth in recent years and all of those states have made lawsuit reform a priority,” Morrison said in the release. “If we want to see similar successes here in Illinois – we need to follow the lead of these states and pass these important reforms into law.”