Recently, the American Tort Reform Association released their “Legislative HeatCheck” report. Illinois was slammed as a “Judicial Hellhole” and its legislature was named a “Lawsuit Inferno.” This was due to the passage of Senate Bill 328, which will significantly expand liability and costs for Illinois small businesses across the state. 

Illinois residents already faced over $7,000 in higher costs because of lawsuit abuse, according to studies. Now that Governor Pritzker has signed Senate Bill 328 into law, those costs are only going to rise. 

Illinois Senate Minority Leader John Curran highlighted the negative impact this bill will have for Illinois families and small businesses after the governor signed it into law:

“I am deeply disappointed that Gov. Pritzker ignored our calls to join the Governor of New York in vetoing this special interest legislation that will further deter businesses from investing in Illinois. Under Gov. Pritzker, Illinois is a bottom five state in the nation for economic growth and job creation because of bad business policies like SB 328,” Curran said in a statement.

Illinois’ actions stand in stark contrast with states like Georgia and Florida. Georgia passed significant lawsuit abuse reforms this year which will bring down costs for families across the Peach State. And after Florida passed historic lawsuit abuse reforms, Floridians across the Sunshine State are seeing “a significant drop in rates following recent legal reforms.”