Press Release

April 3, 2009 - LEGAL WATCHDOG GROUP ADVOCATES LAWSUIT REFORMS AS PRESCRIPTION FOR STATE'S AILING ECONOMY

(Marion, IL) - At a time when Illinois' unemployment rate is nearing double digits, Illinois Lawsuit Abuse Watch (I-LAW) is beginning a grassroots campaign to push lawmakers to pass meaningful lawsuit reforms which will create a more favorable job creation climate in the state.

Illinois' status as a "lawsuit magnet" and the "Lawsuit Abuse Capital of the Midwest" is keeping prospective employers out of Illinois and forcing businesses already here to shelve expansion plans and lay off employees, stresses I-LAW Executive Director Travis Akin.

"The culture of lawsuit abuse in Illinois has created a situation where we are importing lawsuits and exporting jobs and opportunities," Akin said. "It defies logic to expect Illinois' economy to grow under these crippling circumstances even in good economic times, but in the midst of a severe recession, our state's reputation as a personal injury lawyer's paradise and a magnet for lawsuits is making a bad jobs climate even worse."

According to the American Legislative Exchange Council, Illinois has ranked 45th out of 50 states for job creation during the last six years. Illinois lost 100,000 jobs in 2008, according to the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. In the last 10 years, there have been 736,000 more Americans leave Illinois than have moved here.

Akin compared the current job-loss crisis to the health care crisis many Illinoisans faced a few years ago when doctors were fleeing the state due to skyrocketing medical malpractice insurance rates caused by Illinois' lawsuit friendly legal climate. Lawmakers responded to that crisis by passing common sense lawsuit reforms that stopped the exodus of doctors from Illinois. Akin said the same prescription is needed to cure Illinois' ailing economy and stop the exodus of jobs from the state.

"Illinois needs to be able to compete with other states to attract jobs and opportunities, and restoring some balance to Illinois' severely out-of-balance civil justice system will keep jobs here and attract new ones. Passing common sense lawsuit reforms to require lawsuits filed here to actually have some real connection to Illinois will stop out-of-state personal injury lawyers from targeting our state as a great place to file a lawsuit."

Akin continued, "Lawsuit reforms can help keep jobs here, much like the medical malpractice reforms of a few years ago successfully have helped to help attract and retain doctors in Illinois. At a time when lawmakers are considering a host of costly stimulus plans and tax hikes, lawsuit reforms are even more attractive since they won't cost Illinois taxpayers one dime."

Two bills to watch are SB 1963 and SB 1965. Akin said SB 1963 would establish some common sense guidelines for where a lawsuit can be filed and SB 1965 would put into law some requirements for anyone testifying as an expert witness in civil cases. The deadline for both of these measures has been extended, which means the Legislature can still act on them this session.

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