FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE—April 25, 2007
Contact: Larry Akey/Eric Wohlschlegel
(202)580-9313
U.S. Chamber: Illinois’ Abusive Legal Climate Gets Even Worse
Positive Court Rulings Offset by Trial Lawyer Assault in State Legislature
WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform (ILR) today announced that Illinois’ legal climate has worsened, dropping one spot to number 46 in Lawsuit Climate 2007: Ranking the States, an annual assessment of state liability systems conducted by Harris Interactive, a nonpartisan national polling firm.
“Recent positive rulings by the Illinois Supreme Court and improvements in Madison County courts have been cancelled out by a full-scale trial lawyer assault in the state legislature,” said Tom Donohue, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber. “Illinois’ reputation for lawsuit abuse is compounding an already unfriendly business climate, and hurting the state’s ability to compete in the national – and global – marketplace. That kind of reputation can only hurt the state’s employers, consumers and working families.”
The Harris Interactive survey of 1,599 senior attorneys, now in its sixth year, is the preeminent standard by which companies, policymakers and the media measure the legal environment of states. Illinois has languished in the bottom tier of the rankings since ILR began conducting the survey. In 2007, West Virginia ranked last among the fifty states and Delaware is ranked number one, a distinction it has held since the survey’s inception.
According to Donohue, trial lawyer allies in the state legislature have killed all the important legal reform legislation that was introduced this year. They also are currently seeking to pass several anti-reform proposals, including a bill that would allow trial lawyers to more easily target “deep pocket” defendants, regardless of that defendant’s level of fault in a lawsuit. If passed, these proposals would further worsen Illinois’ reputation as a lawsuit abuse haven.
“If Illinois wants to improve its legal climate to retain and attract good-paying jobs, the state legislature must enact meaningful legal reforms now,” said Donohue.
The Institute for Legal Reform is launching a national campaign highlighting the results of the study and the need for comprehensive legal reform, including newspaper and cable TV ads.
ILR's mission is to make America's legal system simpler, fairer, and faster for everyone. It seeks to promote civil justice reform through legislative, political, judicial, and educational activities at the national, state, and local levels. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation, representing more than 3 million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region.