Chicago City Wire

Illinois Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse has issued the following press release:

CHICAGO, IL — Today, Illinois Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse (IL CALA) released data measuring the impact of excessive civil court costs on the state’s overall economy and specifically in the Chicago, Peoria, and East St. Louis metropolitan statistical areas.

These impacts were derived from the Economic Benefits of Tort Reform study conducted by The Perryman Group for Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse using extensive survey data, industry information, and a variety of corroborative source material. The results show that Illinois continues to suffer from one of the worst climates for lawsuit abuse in the country—suffering massive job and revenue losses because of the state’s flawed civil justice system.

Excessive tort litigation in Illinois resulted in annual average direct costs of more than $12.03 billion, state gross product losses of $19.43 billion and more than 192,600 lost jobs. Additionally, state government losses total more than $1 billion, with local governments losing $840 million on average, annually.

• In the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin region, excessive tort litigation costs residents in excess of $11.3 billion in personal income annually and results in a loss of 178,178 jobs each year. Excessive costs result in an annual “tort tax” amounting to about $2,094 per person.

• Peoria is also paying the price for excessive civil litigation, with residents losing more than $85.1 million annually in personal income. Additionally, 1,332 jobs are lost every year and residents pay an annual “tort tax” of about $335 per person.

• East St. Louis is worse off than Peoria with residents losing more than $180 million annually in personal income. Additionally, 2,822 jobs are lost every year and residents pay an annual “tort tax” of about $417 per person.

“With inflation skyrocketing to record highs and small business owners struggling to keep their doors open, the last thing Illinois needs right now are higher costs due to lawsuit abuse,” said Zach Mottl, President of Atlas Tool Works in Lyons, IL. “Sadly, our state’s skewed legal system incentivizes frivolous lawsuits that threaten small businesses and puts the brakes on economic growth. 

“And while this economic impact report clearly shows how lawsuit abuse hurts everyone across the state, this problem has been extremely detrimental to Illinois manufacturers. Manufacturing has been one of the core pillars of the Illinois economy, but excessive lawsuit costs are causing businesses to leave the state for good. It’s time that our legislature listens to the vast majority of its constituents and stops the abuses of our state’s civil justice system.”

According to the report, “tort reform can lead to substantial economic benefits, and states that have implemented reforms have seen improved judicial efficiency and measurable advancement in economic performance.” Civil justice reforms that have resulted in the greatest reduction in losses are those aimed at reducing frivolous lawsuits, capping appeal bonds, setting negligence standards, and limiting non-economic damages. These reforms have been shown to enhance innovation and increase productivity, as well as to improve judicial efficiency and economic performance.

Illinois continues to be ranked among the top Judicial Hellholes in the country, coming in at number five in the 2021-22 Judicial Hellholes® Report issued by the American Tort Reform Foundation (ATRA). Additionally, jurisdictions in Illinois have been named Judicial Hellholes® every year since the report’s inception. Recurring issues over the past 20 years include asbestos litigation, lawsuits that don’t claim any sort of injury occurred, including those related to data privacy and out-of-state lawsuits.

About Illinois Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse (IL CALA)

Illinois Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse is a high-impact watchdog group with supporters across the state dedicated to fixing Illinois’ broken legal system through transparency, accountability, and lawsuit reform. Visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ILLINOISCALA

About The Perryman Group (TPG) 

An economic and financial analysis firm, The Perryman Group provides clients with well-documented, carefully considered answers to even the most complex questions. For more than 30 years, The Perryman Group has met the challenges of thousands of clients through a systematic approach and a level of performance that assures a consistent standard of excellence. The firm has been involved in scores of major events shaping the economic landscape, from crucial corporate locations to landmark legislation to important regulatory policies to notable judicial decisions. 

About Zach Mottl

Zach Mottl is the fourth generation of his family to own and operate Atlas Tool Works. The company, founded in 1918, is a world class precision manufacturing facility offering a broad array of metal manufacturing services. Zach serves on many boards and organizations including, the Coalition for a Prosperous America (CPA), the Cyber Security Committee at MXD, and Illinois Military Economic Development Committee (MEDC).