Ready To Rumble
From the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin
Gov. Bruce Rauner described the agenda he presented Wednesday as “bold, aggressive and comprehensive.”
His opponents called it a “declaration of war.”
During his State of the State remarks on the House floor and in documents he gave to lawmakers, the Republican called for laws capping “unreasonable” civil judgments, restricting venue-shopping and preventing trial lawyers from making campaign donations to judicial candidates.
Saying it would “take another step towards trustworthy government,” Rauner also threw his support behind an appointment process for judges.
“This is our last, best chance to get our house in order, to restore good government,” Rauner said. “Let’s approach our 200th year as the great state of Illinois as a proud people, standing tall, with eyes focused on the future.”
Specifics on those ideas — whether they could withstand potential legal challenges or even pass a Democrat-controlled legislature — are unclear.
There’s little doubt how the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association feels about them.
The plaintiff-lawyer group blasted Rauner in a statement after the speech, calling it a “declaration of war” on middle- and lower-income citizens and saying the idea to ban trial lawyer contributions in particular would erode constitutional rights.
“It’s really startling to hear a sitting governor say that some particular class of people cannot participate. What’s next? Nurses can’t participate? Or firemen? Or members of a particular race or religion?” ITLA President John D. Cooney, a partner at Cooney and Conway, said after the speech.
“It isn’t possible that this particular governor is not aware of how unconstitutional or illegal that suggestion is.”
Read more in our daily News Update...
From the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin
Gov. Bruce Rauner described the agenda he presented Wednesday as “bold, aggressive and comprehensive.”
His opponents called it a “declaration of war.”
During his State of the State remarks on the House floor and in documents he gave to lawmakers, the Republican called for laws capping “unreasonable” civil judgments, restricting venue-shopping and preventing trial lawyers from making campaign donations to judicial candidates.
Saying it would “take another step towards trustworthy government,” Rauner also threw his support behind an appointment process for judges.
“This is our last, best chance to get our house in order, to restore good government,” Rauner said. “Let’s approach our 200th year as the great state of Illinois as a proud people, standing tall, with eyes focused on the future.”
Specifics on those ideas — whether they could withstand potential legal challenges or even pass a Democrat-controlled legislature — are unclear.
There’s little doubt how the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association feels about them.
The plaintiff-lawyer group blasted Rauner in a statement after the speech, calling it a “declaration of war” on middle- and lower-income citizens and saying the idea to ban trial lawyer contributions in particular would erode constitutional rights.
“It’s really startling to hear a sitting governor say that some particular class of people cannot participate. What’s next? Nurses can’t participate? Or firemen? Or members of a particular race or religion?” ITLA President John D. Cooney, a partner at Cooney and Conway, said after the speech.
“It isn’t possible that this particular governor is not aware of how unconstitutional or illegal that suggestion is.”
Read more in our daily News Update...