Op-Ed: Illinois becoming the lawsuit capital of America, and Springfield to blame

By Michelle Smith
The Center Square

As someone who has spent decades building and rebuilding businesses in Illinois, I’ve grown accustomed to challenges that come with the territory: tight deadlines, rising costs, complex regulations. What I can’t get used to is watching our state lawmakers continue to make it harder for businesses to operate here. The passage of Senate Bill 328 is just the latest example of how Illinois politicians continue to tip the scales in favor of special interests at the expense of working families and employers.

SB 328 was pitched to lawmakers as a measure to help Illinois residents who were harmed out of state. That may sound noble, but that’s not how the bill actually functions. Instead, this measure opens the floodgates for trial lawyers from across the country to bring lawsuits into Illinois that have little to no connection to operations in Illinois. A workplace injury case from Texas or a product dispute in Florida could suddenly land in an Illinois courtroom. The plaintiffs in these cases have no real relationship to our state, but they have every reason to exploit our lawsuit-friendly laws.

This isn’t about protecting Illinois residents. It’s about creating an avenue for jurisdiction shopping and a handout to the trial bar. Trial lawyers are rewriting the rules to turn Illinois into their personal courtroom of choice, and our lawmakers are letting them do it. The end result for the voters and the taxpayers? Higher costs, fewer jobs, and an even more toxic legal environment for those trying to build and maintain businesses here.

It’s no secret who benefits from these kinds of bills. The Illinois Trial Lawyers Association is one of the most powerful political forces in Springfield. Every election cycle, they pour millions of dollars into campaign financing, funding mailers, television ads, and political machines designed to keep their allies in power. SB 328 didn’t rise to the top of the legislative agenda because it was good policy; it did so because it was backed by people who write the biggest checks.

This kind of influence has real consequences for employers. I run a general contracting company that specializes in repairing and renovating medical facilities. These businesses operate on tight margins and depend on stable, predictable rules. Every time lawmakers pass another bill like SB 328 or layer on new mandates, they chip away at the foundation that keeps small and midsized businesses standing. Lawsuit abuse drives up workers’ compensation premiums, slows investment, and forces employers to make impossible decisions on whether it’s possible to grow, hire, or even stay in Illinois at all.

Meanwhile, families are feeling the impact too. When businesses spend more time and money defending frivolous lawsuits, those costs are inevitably passed along to consumers through higher prices, fewer job opportunities, and shrinking local investment. It’s a hidden tax on every Illinoisan, and it’s one we pay every single day.

Lawmakers in Springfield like to talk about creating a “fair” economy. But fairness doesn’t come from catering to special interests. It comes from balance, ensuring that justice is accessible to those who are truly harmed, while protecting the integrity of our courts from those who seek to exploit them.

Illinois has already earned a reputation as a lawsuit magnet, and SB 328 will only make that worse. It tells businesses, both large and small, that Illinois isn’t a place for opportunity. It is a place where you come to get sued.

Illinois can’t grow if our leaders keep passing legislation that chases away the very people who create jobs and drive the economy. We need real reform that restores fairness to our courts, reins in lawsuit abuse, and focuses on rebuilding confidence in our state’s business climate. That means saying no to the trial lawyer lobby and yes to policies that make Illinois a place where people want to continue to invest, work, and build.