Illinoisans are no strangers to economic challenges. As inflation rises and the job market becomes increasingly difficult to access, small business owners and their families are dealing with difficult times.
Once again, Cook County courts have been named a Judicial Hellhole by the American Tort Reform Association (ATRA), which is another stark reminder of how dire the situation has become. For small business owners trying to navigate the current shaky economic climate, the compounded pressure brought by the cost of lawsuits can be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. We are seeing countless businesses close shop and head for more business-friendly states that have reigned in their legal environments.
Cook County’s designation as the country’s sixth-worst jurisdiction must be a wake-up call for state lawmakers that perpetual inaction hurts families, small businesses, and our broader economy.
As in years past, the Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) continues to foster extremely abusive litigation. Many lawsuits introduced under BIPA fail to claim any actual injury, a characteristic usually necessary to bring about a lawsuit. Therefore, opportunistic trial lawyers are incentivized to bring lawsuits prioritizing profits over meaningful relief. As a result, small businesses are forced to shoulder enormous legal and financial burdens. Although BIPA was initially enacted to protect individuals from the improper use of biometric data, it has been exploited through abusive litigation practices for each violation, even when no harm has been done. If BIPA continues on its current trajectory, Cook County could become a hub for no-injury lawsuits, a problem already existing in other consumer industries.
In addition to the issues surrounding BIPA, a new litigation threat is emerging in Cook County. In 2024, trial lawyers filed record-high numbers of no-injury lawsuits in the food and beverage industry, ranking amongst the top four states across the country in total filings. This increase in food and beverage related class action suits burdens the court system and raises costs for essential items for all Illinoisians. Food prices are a significant pain point for households, having increased 25% from 2019 to 2023 according to the USDA. Illinois legislators should work to reduce costs in the food supply chain, not raise them.
BIPA and no-injury lawsuits in the food and beverage industry have caused some unscrupulous trial lawyers to do everything they can to delay justice and keep their billing clock running. Trial lawyers poured upwards of $59 million into about 500,000 pro-plaintiff ads in the greater Chicago area, underscoring their desire to collect funds from business owners whom they wrongly portray as some evil pocket of money. The truth is, these business owners are far from fat cats. They are your neighbors, who work long hours like you, and they employ other people in your neighborhood, maybe even you. Business owners are allies, not enemies, of hard-working people.
Additionally, the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association PAC spent over $616,000 to fund state lawmakers’ campaigns, and most of the individuals they donated to support pro-plaintiff groups.
While small business owners bear the brunt of lawsuit abuse, its impact extends far beyond them, affecting everyone. Illinois residents pay a hefty annual “tort tax” of $1,858 per person to offset the escalating costs of these frivolous lawsuits.
As a small business owner in Cook County, I see these alarming examples of lawsuit abuse as an urgent call for reform. If our justice system continues to be exploited, our small business communities will continue to wither and the jobs they bring will disappear.
The Judicial Hellholes report should help lawmakers see the inequities that continue to harm Illinois residents. These systemic issues demand immediate attention to ensure a fairer legal landscape for everyone. Without meaningful reform, the costs of lawsuit abuse will persist, placing an ongoing burden on small businesses and the hard-working families they support for years to come.
