New Report Names Cook County One of the Nation's 'Judicial Hellholes'

(Chicago) – Chicagoland, internationally known as a favorite destination for out-of-state personal injury lawyers and plaintiffs looking to cash in playing the lawsuit lottery, has cemented its status as the “Lawsuit Abuse Capital of the U.S.” with Cook County being named today to a list of the “Top Ten Worst Judicial Hellholes” in the country.

The annual report on the nation’s worst “Judicial Hellholes” comes from the American Tort Reform Foundation, which defines a “judicial hellhole” as “a place where judges systematically apply laws and court procedures in an unfair and unbalanced manner.” That statement is especially true of Cook County, explained Travis Akin, executive director of Illinois Lawsuit Abuse Watch (I-LAW), a non-partisan, grassroots legal watchdog group.

“Christmas comes but once a year for most of us, but for the personal injury lawyers who have turned the Cook County courthouse into their own personally profiable playground, it’s Christmas every day,” said Akin.

“For far too long, Cook County has been a magnet for personal injury lawyers and plaintiffs from all over the country who clog our courts with junk lawsuits that have nothing to do with Cook County, all in the hopes of striking it rich playing our region’s plaintiff-friendly lawsuit lottery. Greedy personal injury lawyers have turned the ‘Land of Lincoln’ into the ‘Land of Lawsuits,’ and that is hurting job creation efforts in Chicagoland.”

Akin continued, “Cook County’s status as one of the country’s worst ‘judicial hellholes’ makes it difficult to attract jobs and opportunities to Chicagoland, because businesses look to move to places where the legal system is fair, and having tonr of he most unfair lawsuit climates in the country is clearly keeping businesses and the jobs they bring from moving to Cook County.”

According to the report, Cook County hosts roughly two-thirds of Illinois’ major civil litigation, even though only about 40% of the state’s population lives there..

Governor Bruce Rauner has proposed lawsuit reform legislation that includes a proposal that will stop personal injury lawyers from shopping around for the friendliest court jurisdiction, even if the lawsuit has nothing to do with that jurisdiction. This practice, often called “venue shopping,” is all too common in Cook County, according to the “Judicial Hellholes” report.

“We need to create jobs in Illinois, not more lawsuits, which is why I-LAW applauds Governor Rauner for taking the lead to weed out junk lawsuits here and restore fairness to our courts. Governor Rauner’s reasonable, common sense lawsuit reforms will create jobs and unclog our courts, which will speed the legal process for those with legitimate claims.”

Akin continued, “We have a broken court system in Cook County that is creating lawsuits, not jobs. Judges here need to take steps to restore fairness and common sense to our courts so we can begin to create jobs, not lawsuits.”

Cook County was also cited for a recent spike in Americans with Disabilities lawsuits filed against Chicago small businesses. Fourteen shops in just the River North neighborhood of Chicago were hit with ADA lawsuits filed by one enterprising personal Injury lawyer.

Of the 94 ADA Title III lawsuits filed in 2015 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, 77 were brought by only eight plaintiffs, each represented by the same legal counsel.

Akin explained, “These lawsuits are not about justice or making people whole. These lawsuits are about greed and making it rain with easy paydays for personal injury lawyers. Due to Cook County’s status as one of the nation’s worst ‘judicial hellholes,’ Chicago-area small businesses have a lawsuit target on their backs. It is time for Cook County judges to stand up to the personal lawyers and sanction those who continue to abuse our courts.”

For more information on the “Judicial Hellholes” report and I-LAW’s efforts to restore common sense and fairness to Cook County courts, visit I-LAW’s website at www.ILLawsuitAbuseWatch.org.

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Illinois Lawsuit Abuse Watch (I-LAW) is a grassroots watchdog group of concerned citizens, community leaders and small business people dedicated to educating the public about the widespread costs of lawsuit abuse. I-LAW has more than 20,000 supporters throughout Illinois. Anyone interested in becoming a supporter of I-LAW or learning more about stopping lawsuit abuse in Illinois can visit www.ILLawsuitAbuseWatch.org.