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"The exorbitant cost of medical
malpractice insurance has become a serious burden on doctors in
Illinois, and in the long run, patients are paying the cost. We see
medical rates going up and access to medical services in some
regions of the state going down as doctors leave Illinois. There
isn't an easy fix to the situation -- as we witnessed during the
long and heated negotiations this spring. But we can't let the
challenge of finding common ground stand in the way of relief for
patients," said Gov. Blagojevich.
"Today [Sept. 16] I am pleased to
announce that the Honorable Donald O'Connell, one of the best, most
experienced mediators in Illinois, has agreed to work with all the
parties involved in medical malpractice reform to get negotiations
back on track. Judge O'Connell has earned the respect of his peers
in the judicial and legal communities for his ability to bring
opposing parties together and reach settlements outside the trial
room. I am confident that his leadership and sound judgment will
help bring everyone back to the table to find a resolution that
protects patients' access to affordable health care and ensures that
doctors in Illinois can continue serving without fear of losing
their life savings."
O'Connell is considered the leading
mediator in Illinois. He was recognized by Chicago Lawyer Magazine
for most consecutive years as the leading judge for settlements of
significant injury and wrongful death cases.
Since 2001, he has served as special
counsel to the University of Illinois hospital system, where he
advises executives on medical negligence issues. He will complete
his service with the U of I this month. In addition, he conducts
private mediations in catastrophic injury, wrongful death and
commercial cases, and he continues to conduct conferences on
successful mediation techniques and strategies in complex areas like
medical malpractice.
[to top of second column in
this article]
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From December 1994 to August 2001,
O'Connell served as chief judge of the Cook County Circuit Court,
where he is credited with restoring public confidence to a court
that had been embroiled in scandal during the federal Operation
Greylord investigation and trials in the 1980s. O'Connell hired a
former FBI agent to look out for corruption, a special task force
recommendation that had been made -- but not fulfilled -- several
years earlier. O'Connell also established a professional development
and mentoring program to help orient new judges.
During his tenure on the court,
O'Connell made numerous improvements to the juvenile justice system,
including the creation of a drug treatment court in the juvenile
division, establishment of a new juvenile court management system to
improve coordination between divisions, and development of a
mentoring network for juvenile wards.
O'Connell earned his law degree from
Northwestern University in 1968. He became a judge in 1978 when he
was assigned to the Law Division of the Cook County Circuit Court as
a motion and jury trial judge. In 1990, he was named presiding judge
of the Law Division.
The governor sought out O'Connell's
assistance after negotiations over medical malpractice broke down in
July. Discussions between all interested
parties began early in the year with a
list of more than 50 areas of
disagreement. By the final weeks of the
overtime spring legislative session, two issues kept the parties
apart -- personal asset protection for
doctors and protection for hospitals
 against
claims arising from actions by contractual doctors who practice at
their facilities. Lawmakers left Springfield in mid-July without a
resolution on medical malpractice reform.
Blagojevich
said that O'Connell has agreed to provide the mediation services pro
bono.
[News release from the
governor's office]
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