End the lawsuit frenzy against Chicago

The city of Chicago has been called the “City that Works,” but thanks to the frequent visits from lawsuit tourists looking to hit the lawsuit lottery, Chicago more appropriately should be called, “The City That Settles.”

Illinois Lawsuit Abuse Watch, a grass-roots, legal watchdog group, recently released a study and found that Chicago's notoriety as a target for lawsuits has cost the city a budget-busting $85 million for litigation in 2010 alone. The tens of millions spent fighting and settling lawsuits filed against the city is money that would be better spent on more worthwhile services. Had Chicago's $85 million expenditure on litigation costs in 2010 been available for other, more worthwhile services and programs, the city would have been able to hire 1,239 police officers, pay 1,226 teachers, hire 1,119 new public health nurses or plant 155,801 trees.

To put the lawsuit numbers in Chicago in perspective, consider that the city of Naperville, which has a population of 141,853, spent $15,375 on judgments and settlements and outside counsel in 2010, while the city of Chicago, which has 18 times the population of Naperville, spent about 5,528 times that amount.

With 900 lawsuits filed against Chicago in the past three years, Chicago is literally sued every single day. But that should not be much of a surprise. A 2010 report from Harris Interactive ranked Cook County the worst local jurisdiction for legal fairness in the country. The time has come to finally shed Chicago's reputation as “The City That Settles.”

Travis Akin

Executive director

Illinois Lawsuit Abuse Watch

Marion