Madison and St. Clair counties have once again been named “judicial hellholes” by the American Tort Reform Association.
After being off the list in recent years, the counties are now ranked as the seventh-worst court systems — alongside Cook County — in the group’s latest annual report, released Tuesday.
The report accuses the courts of allowing venue shopping, with trial lawyers flocking to what it calls "plaintiff-friendly" jurisdictions in the metro-east to file lawsuits against businesses over asbestos and baby formula.
It also criticizes state leaders for enacting a new law that expands courts’ jurisdiction over toxic exposure injury claims. According to the American Tort Reform Association, the law will allow cases “with little real connection to the state.” The association thinks the litigation environment could drive businesses out of Illinois.
“Between local courts rolling out the red carpet for meritless claims and the legislature and governor opening the door to unchecked litigation tourism, Illinois’ civil justice system is in crisis,” Tiger Joyce, president of the American Tort Reform Association, said in a statement.
Madison and St. Clair counties last appeared on the list in 2021.
Groups like the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association have consistently pushed back on the report’s representation of Illinois courts.
In a statement responding to the new ranking Tuesday, the group said the legal system in Illinois offers “strong protections of individuals, workers and consumers.” It characterized the American Tort Reform Association as a biased, pro-business group funded by wealthy corporations.
The lawyers’ association also cited statistics from Site Selection Magazine showing that hundreds of businesses are coming to Illinois each year: 664 business expansion or relocation projects in 2024, 552 in 2023, and 487 in 2022.
Madison County, in particular, has appeared on the list for 17 of the past 24 years, largely because of a flood of asbestos litigation that the American Tort Reform Association believes is unsubstantiated.
An ongoing federal lawsuit accuses Alton-based law firms of filing sham asbestos claims in Madison County and other courts, alleging a yearslong fraudulent scheme to profit from large settlements. One firm has denied the allegations; the other has not yet responded to the lawsuit.
The American Tort Reform Association said Madison County was the top jurisdiction for asbestos filings nationwide in 2024, citing data compiled by corporate consulting firm KCIC. St. Clair County ranked second.
The report also accused Illinois courts of producing high-dollar “nuclear verdicts” such as the $60 million awarded to a mother whose son died in a St. Clair County baby formula lawsuit. The association contends that allegations a specialized formula increases the risk of intestinal disease in premature babies are based on “junk science.”
Editor's note: This story was originally published by the Belleville News-Democrat. Lexi Cortes is a reporter for the BND, a news partner of St. Louis Public Radio.
