Illinois Deserves the Truth

Edwardsville Ed Board Comes Out Swinging

2008-11-19T13:55:14-05:00

The Edwardsville Intelligencer wrote a commendable editorial on the med mal cap issue yesterday. They’re right when they say egregious malpractice cases are more complicated than they appear. Caps, of course, ignore this fact, and apply the same standard to...

Illinois News Roundup

2008-11-19T12:53:16-05:00

IL Attorney General Lisa Madigan is suing seven companies responsible for mortgage scams targeted at struggling homeowners. ... After a derailment killed two and injured 80 others, Metra agreed to pay the families of the deceased $11 million. ... A...

Major Victory for Rights of Developmentally Disabled in IL

2008-11-17T16:44:34-05:00

You have to love the power of class actions. Last week, the IL developmentally disabled community hailed a settled federal class action as a huge step forward. For the first time, it will give thousands of Illinoisans a choice in...

Med Mal Caps, in Court and in the News

2008-11-13T16:27:04-05:00

The state state Supreme Court just listened to oral arguments over IL's 2005 medical malpractice caps law. To coincide, the Illinois Times ran a story this morning outlining the issue. It features quotations from CJ&D executive director Joanne Doroshow, and...

Med Mal Caps Law in IL Supreme Court Tomorrow

2008-11-12T15:08:15-05:00

It’s been a long time coming. Almost a year ago exactly, a Cook County Circuit Court Judge declared Illinois' cruel 2005 caps law unconstitutional. The case went to the state Supreme Court, with oral arguments slated for tomorrow morning. We...

Settlement makes nursing home safer

2008-11-07T13:58:01-05:00

As we have long been touting the benefits of lawsuits that help not only the injured person, but everyone, here is an example out of Lake County. Because of the settlement the nursing home is now implementing stricter monitoring of...

Hey “Tort Reform” Groups – Time to Go Away Now!

2008-11-06T16:11:19-05:00

Cross posted from The Pop Tort by Andy Hoffman Check out this article in the Madison County/St. Claire Record (a newspaper owned by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce) for a great description of how Obama’s win last night is fabulous...

Madigan Taking it to Distributor of Flawed Children's Product

2008-10-30T13:01:48-04:00

You may have heard the phrase “profits over people”, but how about “profits over little people”? Sounds even worse, doesn’t it? IL Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed a lawsuit yesterday to force the distributor of a dangerous crib to stop...

Hot Off the Presses! Report Finds Corporate Immunity Endangers Women!

2008-10-29T16:36:03-04:00

Cross posted from The Pop Tort by Andy Hoffman In anticipation of the important Supreme Court "preemption" case Wyeth v. Levine that will be argued in the Supreme Court this Monday (November 3), the Center for Justice & Democracy (CJ&D)...

Scaffolding Deconstructs

2008-10-27T17:35:03-04:00

Pedestrians walking Chicago’s River North neighborhood witnessed a harrowing scene today. The Tribune reports that construction site scaffolding collapsed seven stories up and left two workers in need of rescue. Firefighters saved the men, both of whom are in critical...

Lawsuit Paved the Way for Burge's Downfall

2008-10-24T13:33:07-04:00

Former Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge finally faces prosecution, but not for what you’d expect. Since expired statutes of limitations prevent any charges related to torture or coercing confessions, Burge was instead indicted for perjury and obstruction of justice -...

Illinois News Roundup

2008-10-23T15:38:34-04:00

Illinois will pocket $3 million from a 33-state settlement over deceptive marketing practices by drug manufacturer Pfizer. ... The FDA announced a new website for consumers looking into current FDA safety efforts. Visit it at http://www.fda.gov/cder/drugSafety.htm. ... Doctors misdiagnosed a...

Memo to U.S. Supreme Court: Immunity Bad! Reading the Newspaper Good!

2008-10-23T11:57:59-04:00

Cross posted from The Pop Tort by Andy Hoffman As we count down the days before the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments in the big “preemption” case, Wyeth v. Levine, the news has been filled with compelling evidence that granting...

Pot Calling the Kettle Black

2008-10-22T13:29:15-04:00

Big Business spends a lot of time and money whining about the need for "tort reform", but that doesn’t stop them from turning around and quietly using the courts themselves. Lately, we need look no further than a trio of...

Business as usual in Chicago

2008-10-21T17:24:16-04:00

By now, we’ve all heard the old song and dance of “tort reformers” in Illinois: that our legal system hurts the local economy. Of course, this is preposterous (read the CJ&D-IL Facts about the Illinois Economy). Here's more evidence for...