OPINION:
E.J. Antoni is exactly right in each and every one of his reasons why Illinois citizens are “voting with their feet” and leaving Illinois (“Why are people fleeing Illinois?” Web, Feb. 8). I’d like to add one more reason for the mass exodus: abusive civil lawsuits that are driving employers of all sizes out of the state.
The recent annual report from the American Tort Reform Foundation named Cook County, Illinois (home to Chicago) the fifth worst “Judicial Hellhole” in the nation. The sheer number of lawsuits is soaring in the state, and often to the primary benefit of the attorneys. For example, in one 2021 class-action case under Illinois’ notorious Biometric Information Privacy Act, the attorneys received $97.5 million in lawyer’s fees while their clients received just $345.
Businesses are getting the message and looking to bring jobs and economy to more hospitable states. Without changes, Prairie State lawyers will run out of entrepreneurs to sue.
PHIL MELIN
Executive director, Illinois Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse
Lake Forest, Illinois
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