December 21, 2007

Letters to the Editor
St. Louis Dispatch

To the Editor:

Judges in the Metro East are to be congratulated for their efforts to increase judicial fairness in the area.  These actions have led to the area’s removal from the national “Judicial Hellholes” list released this week. 

The American Tort Reform Association, keeper of the Hellholes lists, cited the Metro East in making significant gains to reduce the number of class action and out-of-jurisdiction filings.  ATRA singled out Madison County Chief Judge Ann Callis and Judge Daniel Stack for making continued progress in restoring judicial fairness.  While still named on the Watch List, both Madison and St. Clair counties had been on the Hellholes list of the nation’s most unfair jurisdictions in which to be sued for several years.

Upstate Cook County, however, not only remained the No. 3 Judicial Hellhole in the country, but was cited for Judge Diane Larsen’s recently ruling that the state’s medical malpractice reform law of 2005 was unconstitutional.  Now the Illinois Supreme Court will likely decide whether state returns to a negative health care climate where insurance costs rise and quality health care is harder to find.  Let’s keep up the good work in Madison and St. Clair and show Cook County judges the judicial path to fairness for all.

Sincerely,

Rodney C. Osborn, M.D.
President
Illinois State Medical Society

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