From The State Journal-Register
Plaintiffs in medical-malpractice and wrongful-death lawsuits weighed in Tuesday about the impact of jury award limits as Illinois lawmakers began debating whether to make changes to the state’s tort reform law.
Democratic Speaker Michael Madigan called a meeting of the Illinois House to hear testimony on tort reform, which Gov. Bruce Rauner has made a component of his pro-business agenda. This is the second hearing in two weeks — a similar one on Rauner’s pension reform proposal is scheduled for Wednesday — with the purpose of poking holes in the Republican governor’s priorities.
Rauner has said tort reform is a way to save employers money, as Democratic and Republican lawmakers meet with his administration behind closed doors in an attempt to forge compromise with the governor’s “Turnaround Illinois” agenda and next year’s state budget. Democrats want Rauner to consider raising taxes to help balance the budget, but he has said he will only consider doing so if the legislature approves some of his priorities.
Family members of malpractice victims testified for several hours Tuesday about how their lives changed because of mistakes made by doctors and other medical professionals, describing how caps in Missouri and Indiana limit how much can be awarded from a jury decision. Read More