Business groups urge veto of measure they say invites out-of-state
lawsuits
[June 07, 2025]
By Kevin Bessler | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – Business and tort reform groups are speaking out
against legislation headed to the governor they say makes every business
registered in Illinois a target of lawsuits.
The measure, an initiative of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association,
expands Illinois courts’ reach over out-of-state businesses.
An amendment would change Illinois from a "specific jurisdiction" to a
"general jurisdiction" state, making any company simply registered to do
business here subject to lawsuits that have no connection to Illinois,
filed by plaintiffs who may have no ties to Illinois, on matters that
occurred elsewhere.
“We see a lot of nuclear verdicts in some jurisdictions within
Illinois,” said Katie Reilley, executive director of the Illinois
Coalition for Legal Reform. “They’re named judicial hellholes in some
cases and we think that would increase the cost to taxpayers by having
unnecessary lawsuits filed in Illinois.”
According to the group Illinois Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse, from
2022 through early 2025, the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association
Political Action Committee has contributed to only one side of the
aisle, sending 100% of its contributions to Democrats in the General
Assembly and statewide offices. The top beneficiaries were Illinois
House Speaker Chris "Emanuel" Welch, D-Hillside, at $80,000, and
Illinois Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, at $75,000, both
sponsors of the bill.
The bill mirrors a similar measure vetoed by New York’s governor last
year due to its potential to drive businesses away.
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Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker at the Illinois State Library May 28,
2025 - Greg Bishop | The Center Square
“I vetoed substantially similar legislation in 2021 due to concerns
that the proposal would represent a massive expansion of New York's
laws governing general jurisdiction, likely deterring out-of-state
companies from doing business in New York because it would require
them to be subject to lawsuits in the state regardless of any
connection to New York,” said Gov. Kathy Hochul. “The bill would
cause uncertainty for those businesses and burden the judicial
system.”
A spokesperson for the group American Tort Reform Association said
it is one of the worst pieces of legislation, nationwide, that
they've seen this year.
Reilly said Gov. J.B. Pritzker needs to step in and put an end to
this piece of legislation that will drive away businesses and raise
costs for Illinoisans.
“The Illinois Coalition for Legal Reform will encourage Governor
Pritzker to take a page from Governor Hochul in New York to veto a
similar measure there and we would ask him to stop this toxic tort
amendment before it starts in Illinois,” said Reilly.
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