The Illinois Civil Justice League is a coalition of Illinois citizens, small and large businesses, associations, professional societies, not-for-profit organizations and local governments that have joined together to work for fairness in the Illinois civil justice system. Since its inception in 1993, the Illinois Civil Justice League (ICJL) has aggressively led the fight to restore fairness and co
mmon sense to the Illinois civil justice system. By bringing together a membership of diverse interest groups from across Illinois and the nation – including businesses, health care providers, local governments, not-for-profit organizations, attorneys, physicians and everyday citizens – the ICJL has been able to pave the way for the enactment of meaningful civil justice and judicial reforms and work to elect good judges. In fact, the ICJL has made great strides to repair the broken justice system in Illinois. Among its accomplishments, the ICJL has played a major leadership role in efforts to block the legislative agenda of those set on expanding the number of lawsuits and the cost of liability, particularly in the areas of personal injury, class action, asbestos, and other mass tort lawsuits in Illinois. In the mid-1990’s, ICJL was credited with leading the effort to enact one of the most comprehensive tort reform bills ever considered in the United States. By utilizing thoughtful research studies, public education and political action, the ICJL brought to light the crisis in Illinois’ civil justice system. Moreover, the ICJL successfully shepherded legislation through the Illinois General Assembly designed to rectify the toxic tort environment in Illinois. Unfortunately, even before the ink on the new law was barely dry, the trial lawyer friendly Illinois Supreme Court decided to legislate from the bench and threw out the tort reform law. The ICJL expanded the focus on reform by playing a major role in the election of judges, with the goal of providing balance on the Illinois Supreme Court and on lower courts in the state through interviews and questionnaires sent to judicial candidates. A highlight was the election of Justice Lloyd Karmeier to the Supreme Court in 2004. Karmeier was elected from the Fifth District, home of Madison and St. Clair Counties, infamously marked as two of the most disreputable jurisdictions in the United States. Once considered among the worst jurisdictions in the country and stained with the moniker “judicial hellhole,” Madison and St. It is a reality, however, that the positive change will continue only if focus and pressure are maintained by the civil justice and judicial reform movement led by the ICJL.
