I-LAW Seeking to Eliminate "Lawsuit Abuse"

(FROM LEFT, EFFINGHAM COUNTY BOARD VICE-CHAIRMAN AND LOCAL BUSINESSMAN DAVID CAMPBELL, STATE REPRESENTATIVE BRAD HALBROOK, I-LAW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TRAVIS AKIN AND EFFINGHAM COUNTY BOARD CHAIRMAN JIM NIEMANN)

The Executive Director of I-LAW was in Effingham Tuesday, pushing for steps to stop "lawsuit abuse" in Illinois.

I-LAW, or Illinois Lawsuit Abuse Watch, describes itself as a "grassroots, non-partisan legal watchdog group".  Executive Director Travis Akin made an appearance at the Effingham County Office Building along with State Representative Brad Halbrook, Effingham County Board Chairman Jim Niemann and Board Vice-Chairman and local businessman David Campbell.  The event was one of several I-LAW is promoting as public education events that will take place throughout Illinois during 2014.

Our Greg Sapp spoke with Travis Akin at Tuesday's event...

I-LAW is pushing five initiatives for individuals.  They include:

--contact legislators to urge them to vote against personal injury lawyer-backed bills that will result in even more lawsuits filed in Illinois

--serve on juries instead of looking for ways to get out of jury service

--take personal responsibility for their own actions rather than looking to make someone else pay by filing a junk lawsuit

--be smart legal consumers and keep yourself from being victimized by unscrupulous personal injury lawyers and lawsuit lenders

--become an informed voter and research which judges and lawmakers will work to keep frivolous lawsuits out of Illinois courtrooms

Illinois was recently ranked the fifth-worst state in the nation for lawsuit abuse by the non-partisan research company Harris Interactive.  Illinois' lawsuit climate ranked beneath every bordering state inluding Iowa, Indiana and Wisconsin, Missouri and Kentucky.

The I-LAW public education events are being billed as "stopping lawsuit abuse starts with you".