From Illinois Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse:
Lawsuit Abuse Costs Illinois Billions
ROLLING MEADOWS, IL — Standing outside the Cook County Courthouse—ranked the 6th worst “Judicial Hellhole” in America—Illinois Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse (IL CALA) today released a new Economic Impact Report showing that excessive litigation costs Illinois residents billions of dollars and over 200,000 jobs.
The announcement comes just days after the Illinois General Assembly passed Senate Bill 328, a bill IL CALA says prioritizes the profits of politically connected trial lawyers over justice for everyday Illinoisans. “This bill doesn’t help Illinoisans. It doesn’t even help people harmed in Illinois—they can already sue here,” said IL CALA Executive Director Phil Melin. “This bill is for out-of-state plaintiffs and the millionaire law firms that fund Springfield politicians.”
“Meanwhile, real Illinois residents are stuck waiting even longer for justice in our already broken court system (read more about existing court delays). Why are working families in Illinois being forced to wait so that out-of-state millionaire trial lawyers can make a few extra millions?”
Key Findings from the 2024 Economic Impact Report (Perryman Group):
- $24.1 billion in lost gross product annually across Illinois
- 208,411 jobs eliminated
- A per-resident “tort tax” of $1,919
- $1.3 billion in lost state revenue and $1.0 billion in lost local revenue
“These aren’t abstract numbers,” said Melin. “They represent the cost of letting the trial bar write public policy.”
SB 328: Trial Lawyer Giveaway, Justice Delayed for Illinoisans
SB 328 allows general jurisdiction over companies merely for registering to do business in Illinois, enabling lawsuits to be filed in Illinois courts even if they involve out-of-state plaintiffs, out-of-state defendants, and incidents that occurred outside the state.
“SB 328 doesn’t expand justice—it distorts it,” Melin said. “It allows mass tort lawyers from outside Illinois to forum-shop their lawsuits into Cook and Madison Counties—known Judicial Hellholes—because they think they’ll get a better payout.”
Follow the Money: A System for Sale
CALA’s 2025 Follow the Money Report details millions in political contributions from the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association (ITLA) and affiliated firms to key lawmakers who pushed SB 328 forward.
“This isn’t helping the common man injured in Illinois—it’s pay-to-play,” said Melin. “SB 328 shows that the legislature’s loyalty is with the special interest who donate big, not the people of Illinois.”
Cook County: A Judicial Hellhole Reinforced
Cook County was recently ranked the #6 Judicial Hellhole in the nation by the 2024–2025 Judicial Hellholes report, citing an extreme concentration of mass tort cases, systemic court inefficiencies, and heavy trial lawyer influence. Melin said: “SB 328 is expected to worsen these trends by making Illinois the go-to venue for lawsuit tourism.”
About IL CALA
Illinois Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse (IL CALA) is a nonpartisan, grassroots watchdog exposing the economic and political costs of lawsuit abuse in Illinois. CALA advocates for common-sense legal reforms that protect access to justice for legitimate claims while reining in systemic abuse of the courts.
