Tort reform groups urge veto of 'Lawsuit Inferno' bill
[July 30, 2025]
By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – Illinois is now a lawsuit inferno, according to
the latest American Tort Reform Association’s Legislative HeatCheck
Report.
ATRA released its latest report Tuesday and said Illinois lawmakers not
only failed to repair their state’s broken civil justice system, they
actively made it worse with the passage of Senate Bill 328 at the end of
the spring legislative session.
“SB 328 sends the message that Illinois is not open for business. That
message is not implied — it is explicit. This is not the legacy Gov.
J.B. Pritzker should want for his state,” ATRA President Tiger Joyce
said in a statement.
Phil Melin of Illinois Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse said Pritzker may
be inclined to veto the measure.
“The governor isn’t going to be rushed like the legislature was by the
leaders. He’s going to have a chance to look through it. We hope and
think that once he understands it, this bill really doesn’t help anybody
in Illinois. This is really a special-interest bill,” Melin told The
Center Square.
Melin said SB 328 would open Illinois courts to cases with out-of-state
plaintiffs and defendants.
“Whoever was pushing this bill decided this wasn’t really going to
withstand debate and that the more people know about it, the less
they’re going to be able to get the votes so they snuck it in at the
last minute in through some shell bill and passed it,” Melin explained.
Illinois Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, sponsored the bill.
From 2022 to 2025, Harmon received $75,000 in campaign donations from
the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association’s political-action committee.
ATRA said SB 328 would expand liability exposure and encourage court
shopping nationwide.
“The bill’s vague and far-reaching language around ‘toxic harm’ opens
the door to unprecedented liability for businesses regardless of their
location,” ATRA said in a statement.
Melin said the only thing the measure does is "open Illinois courts to
people who are from out of state, plaintiffs, to sue out-of-state
defendants when the injury didn’t occur in Illinois.”
Illinois Trial Lawyers Association President Timothy Cavanagh provided
The Center Square with a statement regarding SB 328.
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A map produced by American Tort Reform Association showing the 2025
"Legislative HeatCheck" map. HeatCheck.atra.org
“Despite the fear-mongering by a corporate front group looking to
help their big business funders avoid accountability when their
products injure or kill innocent Illinoisans, SB 328 does not expose
Illinois-based businesses to litigation. It concerns only the
potential inclusion of 'foreign' — meaning out-of-state — companies.
Contrary to claims from opponents, this bill does not create a new
avenue for plaintiffs to file cases in Illinois. Its provisions
speak only to defendants. Any determinations about plaintiffs would
be subject to the discretion of the courts,” Cavanagh said.
The ITLA president said the bill includes other caveats.
“First, any such out-of-state business may be included only if it
transacts business in this state. Second, and very importantly, the
substance at issue must meet the definition of toxic under the
Illinois Uniform Hazardous Substances Act. That includes asbestos
and other dangerous substances such as benzene and vinyl chloride,"
Cavanagh said, adding that medication, baby formula and food are
excluded, as they are regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration.
The ITLA president said Illinois has long opposed predatory
profiteering by providing a civil justice system in which everyone,
regardless of their means, gets a fair shake.
"SB 328 upholds that tradition by recognizing that the privilege of
doing business here comes with the responsibility of not hurting
Illinoisans,” Cavanagh concluded.
Melin warned that Illinois residents involved in civil lawsuits
would likely face delays due to clogged courts if Pritzker signs SB
328.
“This is going to let a flood of litigations into the Cook County
and Madison County court systems, where they’re famous for
plaintiff-friendly verdicts, and everybody else in Illinois who
needs justice is going to go to the back of the line,” Melin said.
The measure would take effect immediately if the governor signs it
into law.
ATRA said “lawsuit inferno” status is reserved for states that have
aggressively expanded legal liability and worsened their civil
justice systems.
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